It didn’t take long for top-seeded Thomas More to take control. The Saints used a 20-9 first quarter to roll to a 71-51 win, ending the Mount Vernon Nazarene University women’s basketball team’s memorable postseason run in the Round of 16 of the NAIA tournament in Sioux City, Iowa.
Sage Brannon had 23 points and filled the stat line with five rebounds, five steals and three assists to pace the 16th-seeded Cougars (17-12). But she was the only one to finish in double figures, though Maria Dobson added nine points and five boards off the bench.
The Saints, meanwhile, hit from all angles. Going nine deep, eight players scored from six points to 11 points in the game. Courtney Hurst led the way with 11 points, five rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals.
Maggie Jones and Alexah Chrisman were solid for Thomas More off the bench with 10 points each. Chrisman had four rebounds and Jones had three pick-pockets.
Zoey Barth and Emily Simon scored nine points each, Summer Secrist had eight points, Taylor Clos had seven points and Briana McNutt added six points for the Saints.
MEN’S LACROSSE
Ian Ranck found Jason Laasmar for the game-winning goal with 1 second left to lift MVNU to a 9-8 victory over Earlham on Wednesday, March 17, in Richmond, Indiana.
Laasmar’s goal gave him a hat trick for the game. He added three ground balls to lead the Cougars (3-4).
Grant Hauger had three assists and a goal, and Brett Townsend added two goals and an assist for MVNU, which rallied after trailing 7-5 at the end of three quarters.
Ranck and Matt Quire ended up with a pair of helpers each, and Joshua Hageman stopped six shots in goal for the Cougars.
Logan Reihing and Sam Sargent had two goals apiece, Donovan Shea dug up five ground balls and Steven Shaughnessy had nine saves for the Quakers (1-4).
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Spencer Stanley had nine kills, but MVNU couldn’t keep up with ninth-ranked Indiana Tech in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference action on Tuesday, March 16, in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Landon Ewers and Caden Donaldson backed Stanley with eight kills each, Jaysen Matsumoto had 27 assists and Daniel Skrzypchak dug out 14 balls to pace the Cougars (7-8, 3-6).
Dante Siracusa had 12 kills, Daynte Stewart added 10 kills, Brandon Jones dished out 31 assists, Mason Milan and Joey Hermes had nine digs apiece, and Chase Christiansen added two solo blocks and an assisted block for the Warriors (13-3, 8-1).
BASEBALL
MVNU took out any frustrations of a four-game losing streak on Ohio Christian in a doubleheader sweep in non-conference play on Tuesday, March 16, in Mount Vernon.
The Cougars exploded for 15 runs in the third inning on their way to a 19-1 win in seven innings in the opener.
Josh Petit drove in five runs, three on a homer in the third. He had three hits, including a double.
Logan Fox allowed no runs on two hits and no walks while striking out five over the front five innings to get the win for MVNU.
Petit homered in the second game as well, a solo shot in the second inning. By that time, MVNU already had two runs on the board in the first inning on its way to a 6-0 win in seven innings.
Luke Tucker (four innings), Bo Wilson (two innings) and Cruz McFadden combined for the shutout. The trio allowed just four hits and two walks and struck out seven, with Tucker earning the win.
Aaron Saal paced the offense with a pair of hits, a walk and two RBIs.
