Presidents Hampered By Cold Shooting In Loss At Thomas More
CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. – Washington & Jefferson College entered the night as the second-highest scoring team in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference, but the Presidents were held to 31 percent shooting (15-49) and dropped a 63-43 decision to Thomas More on Wednesday evening at the Connor Convocation Center.
The loss was the second straight on the road for the Presidents (3-4, 1-2 PAC), who connected on just 1-of-18 three-point attempts.
After falling behind by as many as 11 points in the first half, W&J methodically sliced into the Saints’ (5-1, 3-0) lead. Senior forward Blair Cotton (Pittsburgh, Pa./Oakland Catholic) nailed a three-pointer with 3:08 remaining in the first half, cutting Thomas More’s advantage to three.
However, that is as close as the Presidents would get. They missed 17 of their next 18 shots from the floor, a stretch that spanned both halves, allowing Thomas More to take a commanding 22-point lead midway through the second stanza.
Senior forward Courtney Walsh (Mill-Hall, Pa./Central Mountain) paced W&J with a game-high 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting. She also added a team-high six rebounds.
Cotton added nine points and two rebounds, while senior point guard Vanessa Rivera (Reading, Pa./Wilson) contributed eight points, four steals, three rebounds and three assists. With her third assist of the night, Rivera pulled into a tie with Regina Dixon for fifth place on the career assist list at W&J with 283.
Senior forward Ashley Kirkpatrick (Sharon, Pa./Kennedy Catholic), the Presidents’ leading scorer (15.8 ppg), was held to a season-low three points.
Katie Kees came off the bench to lead the Saints in scoring with 12 points, while Moriah Corey pulled down a game-high nine boards and netted eight points. Thomas More, the conference’s top shooting team, made 47 percent of its shots from the floor (23-49).
W&J returns to the Henry Memorial Center on Saturday for a PAC contest against Westminster at 4:00 pm.
