A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

Thomas More students, alumni supporting basketball team’s bid for second consecutive national title


By Terry Boehmker
NKy Tribune sports reporter

When the Thomas More College women’s basketball team plays in the NCAA Division III championship game at 6 p.m. Monday, there will be plenty of fans on hand to support their bid for a second straight national title.

Three chartered buses full of Thomas More students, cheerleaders, prep band members and alumni will be making the three-hour trip to Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis to watch the Saints take on Tufts University of Massachusetts in the season finale.

TMC celebration

Thomas More players and fans celebrate after the team wins a national semifinal game to earn a return trip to the NCAA Division III championship final. (Photo from Thomas More College Facebook page)

They expect the journey to have a happy ending. Thomas More is the top-ranked team in Division III and has a perfect 65-0 record over the last two seasons that includes a 62-52 win over Tufts in last year’s playoffs.

“A lot of people at school when you’re walking down the hall will say, ‘Great job, see you in Indy,” said Olivia Huber, one of five seniors on the Thomas More team. “It’s just an awesome environment. Everybody knows and everybody’s excited for (the game), and that makes us (players) more excited as well.”

If the Saints come out on top in Monday’s title game, they’ll become the first women’s basketball team to win consecutive Division III national championships since Washington University of St. Louis won four in a row from 1998-2001. That’s added to the fan frenzy at the private liberal arts college operated by the Diocese of Covington.

“We’ve had a ton of people coming in to buy regular Thomas More gear,” said Erin Garnick, manager of the campus bookstore. “And after we win on Monday, by Tuesday afternoon we’ll have national championship T-shirts available.”

Garnick said students are showing much more support for the Saints than last season when the team won the first national championship in the history of the college.

“This year, we’ve had a lot more excitement and a lot more commotion just because people are wondering if they can do it again,” she said. “So from the get-go we’ve had a lot more people follow them more regularly now than they did in the past.”

Two starting players on last year’s graduated, but Thomas More coach Jeff Hans and his staff put together another undefeated championship contender with a roster that’s mostly recruits from high schools in Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati.

The team’s top player is Sydney Moss, a senior forward from Boone County High School who is averaging 22.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. She was named national Player of the Year in Division III women’s basketball for the third consecutive season.

Two weeks ago, Thomas More defeated Amherst, 74-65, in a national semifinal game at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. Moss scored 39 points to lead the Saints to that victory with hundreds of their fans there cheering for them.

“It’s awesome when you look up in the stands and we have the majority of fans,” said Thomas More sophomore point guard Abby Owings. “It’s a cool atmosphere and makes it really nice.”

Terry Connor, the athletic director at Thomas More, said a send-off for the players is scheduled for 12:15 p.m. on Friday when they’ll board their bus for the trip to Indianapolis. The college invites the community to join in the campus celebration that will take place outside the Connor Convocation Center.

“Our students are really getting behind it all,” Connor said. “They all see what’s going on and get excited. It’s really neat.”


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