By Don Owen
NKyTribune sports editor
Playing a zone defense against Thomas More’s all-guard lineup probably isn’t a good idea this season.
That was very evident Thursday night as No. 7 Southeastern (Fla.) met No. 14 Thomas More in a showdown of nationally ranked NAIA teams in Crestview Hills. The visiting Fire employed a 3-2 zone defense against the Saints, who buried six consecutive 3-pointers during an 18-0 run to begin the game.
By the time the first quarter ended, Thomas More had already drained nine 3-pointers and owned a whopping 29-3 lead. The Saints were never threatened and cruised to a convincing 85-47 win over Southeastern at the Connor Convocation Center.
Thomas More’s Emily Simon (23) operates in the lane against Southeastern (Fla.) on Thursday. (Photo by Jeff McCurry)
“They gave us a little different look than what we were expecting,” Thomas More head coach Jeff Hans said. “So far this year, (Southeastern) hadn’t played a lot of that 3-2 zone that (they) came out in. We ran our main offense because we wanted to run our motion against it. We were able to get some gaps and some movement behind them to where we were able to free up Courtney (Hurst) for those threes early on.”
Hurst buried four 3-pointers to ignite the game-opening 18-0 run, including the first three triples of the onslaught. Zoie Barth and Taylor Clos also knocked down treys during the spurt.
“The biggest thing was, we were patient. We didn’t force shots at all,” Hans said. “We want to go up and down the court. Everybody knows that. We want to be quick. But you also have to be efficient, and I thought we were very efficient with our scoring.”
Emily Simon netted 16 points to lead Thomas More, which improved to 2-0. The Charleston (W.Va.) transfer connected on five of her six attempts from the field, made all six of her free throws and also grabbed eight rebounds.
“We’re going to bring anybody in here to play,” Simon said of playing No. 7 Southeastern so early in the season. “I think we showed who were are and what we’re about this year.”
Barth added 14 points, including four triples, as the Saints finished 15-for-38 from long range and just missed tying the school record of 16, which was set last season in a victory over Georgetown (Ky.).
“We had a plan to attack the gaps in their zone, and so we would drive and kick (the ball outside),” Barth said of the first-quarter barrage of 3-pointers. “Courtney stepped up and knocked down three threes early right off the bat.”
Thomas More’s Zoie Bath (right) looks to pass while being defended by Southeastern’s Haley Howarth on Thursday night. (Photo by Jeff McCurry)
Hurst finished with 12 points — all in the opening quarter. Clos also added 12 points for the Saints, who held Southeastern (1-2) to just 12.5 percent shooting from the field in the first half.
“It (the defense) was much better than Tuesday,” Hans said, noting his team’s 94-71 win over Indiana East in the season opener. “It was team defense, too. Help-side was better. We had a little pep in our step to make sure we got out on shooters and better close-outs to keep them in front of us.
“We’re not the biggest people, but Emily Simon, Kenzie Schwarber, Summer Secrist and Hayden White defending those big (players) they have, they did a great job. Kept them from going inside-outside. Our guards did a better job tonight of keeping (the opposition) in front of them. So we didn’t have to help out a whole lot.”
Thomas More led by as many as 43 points in the second half and sent the visitors to their second straight road loss. On Tuesday night, Asbury (Ky.) had posted a 78-63 upset over Southeastern.
“Give Southeastern credit for taking the trip up here to Kentucky,” Hans said. “Coach (Tim) Hays has a great program. We were just grateful for the opportunity to play somebody of their caliber this early in the season. And at home, too.
“Everybody knows that over the past few years in NCAA Division III, we didn’t get too many non-conference games of this nature at the (Connor) Convocation Center.”
Gabrielle Ozoude led Southeastern with 11 points. The Fire shot 30.4 percent from the field and committed 24 turnovers.
Thomas More plays host to Indiana Wesleyan at 1 p.m. Saturday.
THOMAS MORE 85, SOUTHEASTERN (Fla.) 47
SOUTHEASTERN (47)
Handy 5-6 0-0 10, Kalaydjiev 2-10 3-3 7, Howarth 0-3 0-0 0, Hecox 1-4 2-2 5, Odom 1-3 0-0 2, Ozoude 5-11 1-2 11, Hamilton 2-10 2-4 7, Ane 1-5 0-0 3, Cloutier 0-1 0-0 0, Baklund 0-3 2-2 2. Totals 17-56 10-13 47.
THOMAS MORE (85)
Barth 5-11 0-0 14, Hurst 4-12 0-0 12, Clos 4-10 0-0 12, McNutt 1-5 0-0 2, Simon 5-6 6-6 16, Secrist 4-7 2-2 10, Schwarber 2-7 2-2 7, Jones 1-6 0-0 2, White 1-1 0-0 2, Brenner 0-2 0-0 0, Hall 0-1 0-0 0, Vickers 1-2 1-2 4, Morgan 0-0 1-2 1, Martin 1-1 0-0 3, Anderson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-71 12-14 85.
HALFTIME: TMU 46-12. 3-POINTERS: (TMU 15-38, SU 3-17). REBOUNDS: TMU 37 (Simon 8 8), SU 32 (Odom, Handy 7).
RECORDS: Thomas More 2-0, Southeastern 1-2.
Thomas More junior guard Taylor Clos applies defensive pressure against Southeastern’s Haley Howarth in the NAIA showdown Thursday night. (Photo by Jeff McCurry)
Courtney Hurst (12) releases a 3-pointer during the first half against Southeastern (Fla.) on Thursday night. Hurst hit four 3-pointers in the first half. (Photo by Jeff McCurry)
Thomas More freshman Maggie Jones (15) looks for an open teammate against Southeastern (Fla.) on Thursday night in Crestview Hills. (Photo by Jeff McCurry)
Don Owen is sports editor of the Northern Kentucky Tribune. Contact him at don@nkytrib.com and follow him on Twitter at @dontribunesport.
