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Thomas More standout Temple earns national honor; McDonald selected Horizon League co-POTW


NKyTribune staff

Thomas More women’s basketball standout Madison Temple has been named to the D3hoops.com National Team of the Week.

Temple is averaging 24.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 6.25 steals per game for Thomas More, which is ranked No. 5 nationally in the NCAA Division III poll. She is also off to a quick start for the Saints, who have not lost a regular-season game in more than a year.

Madison Temple

In the Saints’ 95-69 win over Midway University, Temple recorded a triple-double as she scored 26 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and dished out 10 assists, while blocking three shots and collecting five steals.

Thomas More will host the Julie Costello Memorial Classic this Saturday and Sunday (Nov. 24-25) at the Connor Convocation Center in Crestview Hills.  Thomas More plays Maryville (Tenn.) College on Saturday at 4 p.m. The Saints conclude the two-day event Sunday at 4 p.m. by meeting La Roche College.

A year ago, Thomas More posted a 30-2 record and advanced to the NCAA Division III Final Four. The Saints are competing as NCAA Division III independents this season and will join the NAIA in 2019-20.

McDONALD EARNS HONOR: Northern Kentucky University’s Drew McDonald has been named the Horizon League’s co-Player of the Week after leading the Norse to a 3-0 record at the KEMI Northern Kentucky Basketball Classic.

McDonald averaged 21.3 points and 11.3 rebounds during the three games. He converted 18-of-34 (52.9 percent) of his field goal and converted 24-of-29 (82.8 percent) at the charity stripe. He was also named tournament MVP as NKU improved to 6-0.

Drew McDonald scores two of his 14 points last Friday. (Photo by Jeff McCurry)

McDonald led NKU with 14 points and 14 rebounds in Friday night’s victory over UNC Asheville, and he closed the weekend with 31 points and 12 boards in a win against Coastal Carolina. In between, he registered a 19-point, eight-rebound outing against Manhattan.

The former Newport Central Catholic standout now has 37 career double-doubles. He is also eighth on the NKU career scoring charts with 1,547 points. The Cold Spring native also jumped into No. 2 in career rebounds at NKU with 823 boards.

McDonald is nearing the NKU all-time record of 859 rebounds, set by LaRon Moore from 1993-97. McDonald shared the Horizon League’s weekly award with Green Bay’s JayQuan McCloud.

NKU plays at Central Florida at 6 p.m. Saturday.

NKU WOMEN PLAY BELMONT: The NKU women’s basketball team plays host to Belmont at 6 p.m. Wednesday at BB&T Arena. The Bruins are 3-1 and ranked No. 12 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. NKU is 1-2 going into the game. It’s the first time in nearly 35 years NKU and Belmont have played in women’s basketball.

Senior Darby Maggard leads Belmont in scoring at 17.0 points per game and is 15-for-21 from 3-point range. Maggard is the top active career leader in 3-point field goal percentage (43.9 percent) and free-throw percentage (92.7 percent), and she also ranks second in made 3-pointers (332), assists (555) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.78).

Maggard has a strong supporting cast in Belmont’s starting lineup with Ellie Harmeyer (13.0 ppg, 7.8 rpg), Maura Muensterman (9.5 ppg), Jenny Roy (9.0 ppg, 7.8 rpg) and Maddie Wright (8.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg).

Molly Glick leads NKU in scoring at 9.7 ppg, while freshman guard Taylor Clos is netting 9.3 ppg. Freshman guard Ally Niece averages 8.3 points per contest, and freshman post player Emmy Souder is scoring at an 8.0 ppg clip.

(Information compiled from NKU Athletics Communications, Thomas More and staff reports)


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