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Thomas More women begin NCAA Tournament with 79-54 win over Saint Vincent on Friday night


NKyTribune staff

Call this a perfect start to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the top-ranked, unbeaten Thomas More University women’s basketball team.

Shelby Rupp scored 18 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked three shots as Thomas More improved to 28-0 with a 79-54 win over Saint Vincent (Pa.) in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament on Friday night at the Connor Convocation Center. Emily Schultz added 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Saints, who pulled away in the second half.

Thomas More’s Madison Temple (24) looks to pass against Saint Vincent during the first half. Temple finished with 12 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. (TMU photo)

Thomas More struggled offensively for much of the first half (15 turnovers) but still owned a 27-24 lead at intermission. Saint Vincent limited Madison Temple — Thomas More’s leading scorer at 23.7 points per game — to just two shots and four points in the first half.

In addition, Thomas More shot just 1-for-8 from 3-point range in the first half while Saint Vincent was 4-for-10 from beyond the arc during the opening 20 minutes. With the game tied at 35-all in the third quarter, Thomas More closed with a 17-6 run to take a 52-41 advantage going into the final stanza.

Thomas More drained five 3-pointers in the second half and finished at 52.5 percent shooting from the field. The Saints dominated boards and won the rebounding battle by a 48-21 margin.

Temple, who was 5-for-6 from the field, finished with 12 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. The Cincinnati native is Thomas More’s all-time career scoring leader with 2,060 points.

Kelly Clapper and Briana McNutt each scored 10 points for Thomas More. Madison Kollar led Saint Vincent (23-5) with 17 points. The Bearcats made just 32.3 percent of their shots from the field and were 9-for-26 from 3-point range.

Thomas More meets fifth-ranked Trine (Ind.) at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in the second round. The winner advances to next week’s sectional semifinals. Trine defeated Emory (Ga.) on Friday, 57-54, and is 26-2.

A year ago, Thomas More advanced to the NCAA Division III Final Four.

NCAA Division III Tournament
at Thomas More University

Friday, March 1


Trine (Ind.) 57, Emory (Ga.) 54

Thomas More 79, Saint Vincent (Pa.) 54

Saturday, March 2

Trine (26-2) vs. Thomas More (28-0), 6:30 p.m.

(Information compiled from Thomas More and staff reports)


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