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Thomas More seniors looking to finish college basketball careers as two-time national champions


By Terry Boehmker
NKy Tribune sports reporter

Winning the NCAA Division III championship game on Monday would be a crowning achievement for the five seniors on the Thomas More College women’s basketball team. They’ve each played a role in making the Saints a prominent small-college program and now they have a chance to close out their careers as undefeated national champions for the second consecutive season.

The only other Division III women’s basketball team to do that was Washington University of St. Louis that won the 1999 and 2000 national titles and finished 30-0 both seasons.

“Hopefully, we’ll leave our own legacy by going back-to-back,” said Thomas More senior guard Sydney Moss. “If not, we’re still going to be proud of what we left behind and hopefully it influences and motivates other kids to try and do what we did.”

TMC seniors

Thomas More seniors, left to right, Kiley Bartels, Alex Santamaria, Sydney Moss, Samantha Cady and Olivia Huber will finish their college careers playing in the NCAA Division III championship game on Monday. (Photo from Thomas More athletics website)

Thomas More will play Tufts University of Massachusetts in the title game at 6 p.m. Monday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The game will be shown live on the www.ncaa.com website.

If the Saints win, they’ll finish with a perfect 33-0 record and carry off the championship trophy once again with Moss and her senior teammates — Alexa Santamaria, Olivia Huber, Kiley Bartels and Samantha Cady — leading the celebration.

“We want them to finish up the right way,” coach Jeff Hans said of the seniors. “We talked a little bit about that when the NCAA tournament first started. I told them, ‘Now is when you can leave your mark. You have the opportunity to leave a legacy that people will really look up to.”

Thomas More’s team leader is Moss, who was named Player of the Year in Division III women’s basketball for the third consecutive season. In addition to averaging 22.4 points per game, she leads the team in assists with a 5.6 average and rebounds with a 7.3 average.

Olivia Huber

Olivia Huber is one of three seniors who give the Thomas More team experience off the bench. (Photo by Jackson Sports Photography)

The team’s other senior starter is Santamaria, a 5-foot-11 forward averaging 4.8 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. Huber and Bartels are guards and Cady is a forward who come off the bench.  The three of them together have combined averages of 11.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.

Depth is a key factor in the Saints’ success this season because they apply full-court defensive pressure on their opponents and try to dictate a fast-paced style of play. It’s worked so well that they’re averaging 92.2 points per game while limiting their opponents to 53.7.

“We’re working hard on the defensive end to get a deflection or get a steal and making sure we limit (the other team) to one contested jump shot so we can get out and run,” Hans said.

Thomas More used that style of play to defeat Tufts, 62-52, in the semifinals of last year’s national playoffs. When the two teams meet in the title game on Monday, there will be a lot more on the line, especially for the five seniors on the Saints’ roster.

“I’m excited to be able to play in the final game of their careers,” said Thomas More sophomore point guard Abby Owings. “When we were playing our first NCAA (playoff) game, I said, ‘This is the seniors’ last run, let’s play for them.’ We’re all very close. We come into practice every day and work hard so we have a great bond.”

Moss could have an opportunity to play in a women’s professional basketball league next season. The other four seniors on the Thomas More team will be playing the final game of their careers on Monday.

“I don’t want to think about losing those five,” coach Hans said. “They’re not just good players. Off the court, they’re great young ladies.”


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