Thomas More (Ky.) women claim first NAIA championship

Posted March 22, 2022 7:00 am

The Associated Press

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) - Alexah Chrisman scored 16 points to secure the tournament MVP award, Zoie Barth added 12 points and top-seeded Thomas More (Ky.) beat No. 5 seed Dordt (Iowa) 77-65 on Tuesday night for its first NAIA championship.

Thomas More (32-4), which is in its third year in the NAIA, was in the championship game for the second straight season. The Saints won two titles at the Division III level.

Thomas More scored 32 of the opening 41 points of the game as Dordt didn't reach double figures until it trailed 32-11 with 6:20 remaining in the first half. The Defenders made just four of their opening 18 shots.

Thomas More led 40-15 at halftime after holding Dordt to 24% shooting.

Taylor Clos finished with 11 points for Thomas More, which had a 40-26 advantage on the glass.

Karly Gustafson scored 23 points on 10-of-19 shooting for Dordt (29-9), which was in the championship game for the first time in program history. Hayden Heimensen and Ashtyn Veerbeek each scored 14 points.

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More AP coverage of March Madness: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

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