[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 4655-4656]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      RECOGNIZING THE THOMAS MORE COLLEGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to a team of 
national champions that comes from the great State of Kentucky. On 
March 21, 2015, the Thomas More College women's basketball team, the 
Saints, won the first ever team championship in their school's history.
  The Saints notched an 83-to-63 win over George Fox University in the 
women's Division III championship game and capped an undefeated season 
with a record of 33 to 0. They are only the sixth team in the history 
of Division III women's basketball to go an entire season undefeated. 
Along the way to their perfect season, they defeated four top 10-ranked 
teams.
  The final game was hosted by Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI, and 
played in the Van Noord Arena. Thomas More jumped out to an early lead 
and never trailed in the game. Thomas More's leading scorer in the 
championship game, Sydney Moss, was also named the NCAA Division III 
national player of the year by both D3hoops.com and the Women's DIII 
News. It is the second consecutive year she has earned the award. 
During the NCAA postseason, Moss broke the NCAA all-division men's and 
women's scoring record with an incredible 197 points in the Saints' six 
NCAA tournament games.
  Saints head coach Jeff Hans, who guided his team to their first 
undefeated season and their first national championship, was also named 
the Division III national coach of the year by both D3hoops.com and the 
Women's DIII News.
  I want to recognize every member of this championship team that is 
bringing the Women's Division III trophy back to Kentucky. Team members 
include Kirsten Paul, Kiley Bartels, Abby Owings, Stephanie Krusling, 
Olivia Huber, Nikki Kiernan, Mikkah Hignite, Sarah Roaden, Kelly 
McDonald, Sydni Wainscott, Alexa Santamaria, Kaylee Bush, Sydney Moss, 
Sam Cady, and Hannah Devine. Jeff Hans is the head coach, and he is 
assisted by Tim Shields, Tanja Speaker, and Jerry Allen. The school's 
director of athletics is Terry Connor and its president is David 
Armstrong.
  The Kentucky Enquirer recently published an article about the Saints' 
victory. I ask unanimous consent that it be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

              [From the Kentucky Enquirer, March 21, 2015]

        Thomas More Women Win Division III National Championship

                            (By Adam Turer)

       Grand Rapids.--The Division III women's college basketball 
     season began with Mount St. Joseph's Lauren Hill scoring the 
     season's first points in front of a sold crowd at the Cintas 
     Center. It ended with head coach Jeff Hans and the Thomas 
     More Saints hoisting the national championship trophy. With 
     an 83-63 win over George Fox on Saturday night, the Saints 
     earned the first team championship in Thomas More history.
       In a battle of 32-0 teams--the first Division III women's 
     championship between two undefeated squads--the Saints 
     controlled from the opening tip. One night after starting 0-7 
     from the field, Thomas More hit its first three shots to open 
     up an early lead. They never trailed.
       George Fox, the 2009 national champion and 2012 runner-up, 
     made it this far behind its relentless full court press. The 
     Saints had faced very little full court pressure this season, 
     for good reason. With Abby Owings, Sydney Moss, and Sydni 
     Wainscott all able to handle point guard duties, the Saints 
     are nearly impossible to trap. Hans went to a four-guard 
     lineup at times with Olivia Huber coming off the bench. The 
     Saints still had to overcome several uncharacteristic 
     turnovers, but balanced those miscues with a bounty of fast 
     break points.
       Moss was, as always, the focal point of the opposing 
     defense. It took the nation's leading scorer over 11 minutes 
     to make her first field goal. The two-time national player of 
     the year found other ways to help her team win. She led 
     Thomas More with 19 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists. The 
     biggest beneficiaries of her defense-breaking ball handling 
     were post players Alexa Santamaria and Nikki Kiernan. 
     Santamaria finished with 14 points on 6-6 shooting, while 
     Kiernan added 16 points on 7-11 shooting. Most of

[[Page 4656]]

     their attempts were wide open looks from within two feet 
     thanks to Moss drawing away helpside defenders and dropping 
     no-look dimes.
       The victory was a culmination for the program which began 
     its ascension as a national contender under current Xavier 
     head coach Brian Neal. The success continued under Hans, but 
     the Saints developed a pattern of underwhelming in the 
     postseason. The addition of key transfers and the infusion of 
     several of northern Kentucky's top high school players 
     elevated this year's team to unforeseen heights. Moss did not 
     transfer home from Florida expecting to win a national 
     championship. She drew inspiration from the program's family 
     atmosphere, and the ability to play in front of her family 
     nearly every night. This win brought renewed appreciation for 
     her loved ones.
       ``You look up and see your mom and think of all the 
     practices she drove you to, all the shoes she bought you, and 
     all the sacrifices she made,'' Moss said after Friday's 
     semifinal win.
       Dozens of Saints students, many athletes in other sports, 
     made the trek to Grand Rapids not once, but twice this 
     weekend. They bussed up for Friday's semifinal, back to 
     Crestview Hills, then back up on Saturday. Thomas More fans 
     accounted for roughly 70 percent of the crowd and 90 percent 
     of the crowd noise at Saturday's title game. The team bus 
     will return to Crestview Hills with some new hardware to add 
     to the Connor Convocation Center trophy case.
       ``The support I cannot say enough about. The pride that 
     they have in their school and excitement to see our programs 
     go to another level,'' said athletic director Terry Connor. 
     ``[There is] a great sense of pride and this is proof that it 
     can be done.''

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