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Thomas More women improve to 30-0 with 89-74 win over Transy in NCAA Division III Tournament


NKyTribune staff

Two long winning streaks collided Friday night when top-ranked Thomas More University met 18th-ranked Transylvania in the women’s basketball NCAA Division III Tournament sectional semifinals.

Thomas More entered Friday with a 29-0 record, while Transylvania owned a 22-game winning streak and a 27-2 slate. The Pioneers had not lost a game in exactly three months (Dec. 8), and the host Saints’ last defeat occurred almost a year ago in the NCAA Division III Final Four.

Perfection ruled again on Friday night as Thomas More posted an 89-74 win over visiting Transylvania. The unbeaten Saints jumped out to a 16-point halftime lead and cruised to their 30th consecutive victory in front of a crowd of 1,200 at the Connor Convocation Center.

Asyah Mitchell

Asyah Mitchell scored 21 points off the bench to key the win. The freshman from Cooper High School poured in 11 points during the first half as the Saints built a 42-26 advantage at the break.

Madison Temple finished with 21 points, 13 rebounds and six assists for Thomas More, which converted 51.7 percent of its shots from the field. Temple was 6-for-10 from the field and 9-for-10 at the free-throw line.

Shelby Rupp (14 points), Kaela Saner (12 points) and Emily Schultz (11 points) also netted double figures for Thomas More, which outscored Transylvania 40-28 in the paint. In addition, Rupp grabbed eight rebounds and blocked two shots.

Ashton Woodard led Transylvania (27-3) with 25 points. Celia Kline added 22 points for the Pioneers, who shot 43.3 percent from the field.

Thomas More advances to Saturday night’s sectional championship against 12th-ranked Washington (St. Louis) — a 63-46 winner over No. 22 Mary Hardin-Baylor in the other sectional semifinal — with a trip to next week’s NCAA Division III Final Four at stake.

Washington is now 22-6 after defeating Mary Hardin-Baylor. The Bears have won an NCAA Division III-record five national championships.

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

(Information compiled from Thomas More and staff reports)


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