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No. 1 Thomas More (28-1) faces No. 7 Morningside (29-2) in NAIA national semifinals on Monday night


NKyTribune staff

It gets no easier for Thomas More on Monday night in the NAIA national semifinals, when the top-ranked Saints meet a powerful Morningside (Iowa) squad that will be playing in its home city of Sioux City.

Morningside, ranked No. 7 nationally in the NAIA poll, is 29-2 and has won 23 consecutive games. The Mustangs rolled to an 83-67 victory over Concordia (Neb.) in the national quarterfinals on Saturday to set up the 7 p.m. Monday showdown with No. 1 Thomas More.

Senior guard Sierra Mitchell leads Morningside in scoring at 17.8 points per game. (Morningside photo)

Senior guard Sierra Mitchell topped three Morningside players in double figures against Concordia. A night after becoming the fourth player in program history to reach career 2,000 points, she tallied 26 to lead all scorers.

Mitchell averages 17.8 points per game and is 118-for-290 from 3-point range.

Junior forward Taylor Rodenburgh scored 20 points off the bench for the Mustangs. Sophomore guard McKenna Sims rounded out the double-digit scorers with 13 points.

Morningside shot 64.2 percent from the field to defeat Concordia (22-9) for the fourth time this season. Both teams compete in the Great Plains Athletic Conference.

Thomas More advanced to Monday’s semifinals with a 72-47 victory over Dakota State (S.D.) on Saturday. The Saints placed four players in double figures and held Dakota State to 27.8 percent shooting from the field.

Taylor Clos and Summer Secrist each scored 12 points for the Saints, who improved to 28-1 with their 13th straight win. Briana McNutt and Alexah Chrisman added 10 points apiece for Thomas More, which bolted out to a 21-4 lead after one quarter and extended that bulge to 42-20 at halftime.

Thomas More also snapped Dakota State’s 23-game winning streak. The Trojans (27-4) had not lost since Nov. 17.

Clos drained four 3-pointers and dished out five assists. Thomas More finished 9-for-31 from beyond the arc and won the rebounding battle against the bigger Trojans by a 43-37 margin.

Emily Simon grabbed nine rebounds to pace the Saints on the boards. She also dished out seven assists and scored eight points. McNutt and Chrisman both grabbed eight rebounds.

Thomas More is seeking its fourth national championship in seven years. The Saints won back-to-back NCAA Division III national championships in 2015 and 2016. Thomas More added a third national crown in 2019 before transitioning to the NAIA last season.

Westmont (Calif.) and Indiana Wesleyan meet in the other national semifinal contest on Monday night. The NAIA national championship game is set for Tuesday at 8 p.m.

(Information compiled from Morningside and staff reports)

Thomas More players celebrate after defeating Olivet Nazarene on March 13 to earn a trip to the NAIA round of 16 at Sioux City, Iowa. (Photo by Jeff McCurry)


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