Thomas More advances to NCAA Division III national championship game with 69-56 win over Scranton (Pa.)

NKyTribune staff

SALEM, Va. — Madison Temple scored 14 of her 20 points in the fourth quarter Friday night as top-ranked Thomas More University posted a 69-56 win over ninth-ranked Scranton (Pa.) in the NCAA Division III Final Four.

Emily Schultz added 17 points for Thomas More, which improved to 32-0 and advanced to Saturday night’s NCAA Division III national championship game against second-ranked Bowdoin College, which defeated St. Thomas (Minn.) in Friday’s other semifinal. Bowdoin is 31-1 going into Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. national championship contest.

Shelby Rupp chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds as Thomas More earned a spot in the national title contest for the third time in five years. The Saints won back-to-back NCAA Division III national championships in 2015 and ’16, though the NCAA later forced Thomas More to vacate the ’15 title for using an ineligible player.

A year ago, Thomas More advanced to the national semifinals before losing to Amherst (Mass.) in the NCAA Division III Final Four.

Schultz and Rupp both netted 10 points in the first half as Thomas More settled for a 37-28 lead at the break. Kaela Saner added eight of her 10 points during the opening 20 minutes as the Saints shot 50 percent from the field.

Scranton opened the third quarter with a 14-1 run to take a 42-38 lead, but Thomas More countered with a 7-0 spurt to gain a 45-42 edge going into the final stanza. Temple, who was named the WBCA’s NCAA Division III National Player of the Year on Thursday, then scored 14 points in the fourth quarter as the Saints pulled away.

Temple also grabbed nine rebounds and dished out six assists. A graduate of Anderson High School in Cincinnati, Temple is Thomas More’s all-time career scoring leader with 2,164 points.

Kelly Clapper added six points for Thomas More, which is in its final season of competing in the NCAA. Thomas More joins the NAIA in 2019-20 and will also become a member of the Mid-South Conference.

Makenzie Mason scored 18 points for Scranton, which finished the season with a 29-3 record. The Lady Royals were held to just 38.8 percent shooting from the field and were 9-for-26 from 3-point range.

During the past five seasons, Thomas More owns a 156-3 record on the court. The Saints have compiled records of 33-0 (later vacated by the NCAA), 33-0, 28-1, 30-2 and the current 32-0 slate.

(Information compiled from Thomas More and staff reports)