Date: Friday, March 6, 2009
Contact: Robert Dignazio / Sports Information Intern
(804) 752-7387 /  robertdignazio@rmc.edu

No. 6 Thomas More Tops R-MC Women's Hoops 76-61
(Box Score)

 GRANTHAM, Pa. - Randolph-Macon played No. 6 Thomas More evenly in the second half of play, but the Yellow Jackets could not recover from a fifteen-point halftime deficit as R-MC fell 76-61 in the first round of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament Friday at Brubaker Auditorium in Grantham, Pennsylvania. Junior Molly Ariail led the Yellow Jackets with 15 points and seven rebounds.

Thomas More sprinted to a 12-2 lead 7:47 into the game. With one minute remaining in the first stanza, R-MC trailed 33-23. Thomas More ended the first half by scoring five consecutive points to give the Saints a 38-23 lead at halftime. The Yellow Jackets shot just 24.1% from the field in the first twenty minutes of play, while Thomas More shot 52.0%.

After the Saints built a 51-33 lead with 16 minutes remaining in the contest, the Yellow Jackets responded by going on a 12-4 run to pull within ten points. Sophomore Katie Williams nailed a three-pointer and made a foul shot, Lindsay Riesbeck converted a layup, Maggie Roy drained a pair of free throws, and Molly Brown closed out the run with two consecutive jump shots to make the score 55-45 with 10:47 remaining. This would be the closest R-MC would come to tying the game, however, as the Saints responded by going on a 13-3 run, grabbing a twenty point lead with a little more than five minutes remaining.

In addition to Ariail's 15 points and seven rebounds, Maggie Roy registered 10 points and four assists, Katie Williams netted seven points, Jillilan Asay tallied eight points, and Amanda Hiltunen posted five points and four assists to lead R-MC. Thomas More sophomore center Nicole Dickman led both teams with 22 points, while teammate Jayme Thiem netted 18 points and Kristen Humphrey scored 12 points.

Thomas More improves to 27-2 and will play either Messiah College or Eastern Connecticut State University in a second round game Saturday at Brubaker Auditorium. The Yellow Jackets end their season at 23-6 overall after winning the 2009 Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship.

                                             
                             - Yellow Jackets -