Feb 13, 2016 4 min read

It is a script that has become all too familiar for the Washington & Jefferson women’s basketball team.

The Presidents play hard and with confidence and determination, but no matter what they try, whether it be a myriad of defenses or holding the ball and running down the shot clock with each possession on offense, the result doesn’t change when playing Thomas More, the defending NCAA Division III national champion and current No. 1-ranked team.

Thomas More opened the game on cue Saturday, with two-time Division III Player of the Year Sydney Moss making a three-pointer only 30 seconds after the opening tip-off.

The Saints made six more three-pointers in the first quarter, built an early 20-point lead and cruised to an 88-57 victory over W&J in a Presidents’ Athletic Conference game at Henry Memorial Center.

It was just another successful business trip for Thomas More (16-0, 22-0). The Saints ho-hummed their way to their 55th consecutive win. There was no hint of a possible upset by W&J (14-2, 19-4), the PAC’s second-place team. The Presidents made only three of their first 18 shots and trailed 41-13 early in the second quarter.

“That first quarter set the tone,” W&J coach Jina DeRubbo said. “Their shooting was lights out. They have all the weapons. They are way more than Sydney Moss. The have a lot of other really strong players.”

W&J has plenty of good players, too. That’s why the Presidents are considered a bubble team for the Division III tournament. They are ranked No. 9 in the Great Lakes Region and will need to climb at least two spots to feel comfortable about making the postseason as an at-large team. A win over Thomas More would have gone a long way to securing a tournament berth.

The Presidents could gain automatic entry in the NCAA tournament by winning the PAC tournament, but that would require somebody beating Thomas More on the Saints’ home court.

“The reality is, we have a better chance to make the NCAA tournament than we do of winning our own conference,” DeRubbo said.

Half of W&J’s four losses have come against Thomas More. The other two are to Carnegie Mellon, which is fifth in the Great Lakes, and La Roche, which is in first place in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.

The problem for W&J is the Presidents don’t have many marquee wins, though they did defeat La Roche – the Presidents and Red Hawks met twice in nonconference games. But if W&J can win the games they’re supposed to in what’s left of the regular season and in the PAC tournament, it might be enough to garner an at-large berth.

“I keep telling the kids about controlling what we can control,” DeRubbo said. “If we win all the games we’re supposed to win, then we have a shot. But we must do our part. We have to be perfect.

“The big thing about the regional rankings is getting on the board. You have to be ranked to get one of those at-large bids. The big thing is, can we stay on the board? What hurts us is the strength of schedule within our conference.”

Thomas More coach Jeff Hans, who has a John Wooden-like career record of 138-8, says W&J deserves to give the PAC a second team in the NCAA tournament.

“They’re good enough to get in,” he said firmly.

But the Presidents are, just like every other team, playing at a level below Thomas More. W&J had been unbeaten at home (10-0), but Thomas More dominated the first quarter and never let the Presidents think upset.

Moss scored 25 points and came within two assists of a triple-double, finishing with 10 rebounds and eight assists. Madison Temple scored 16 points, Nikki Kiernan had 13 points and Abby Owings 11.

Beka Bellhy scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead W&J. Alyssa Riley came off the bench to score 12 points.

“Our kids were excited about playing today,” Hans said. “I think you saw that early on. W&J was unbeaten here and that’s a well-coached team. We’re starting to play well at the right time of year.”