CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. — The Trevecca Nazarene University women's basketball team (6-5, 3-3 GSC) dropped a 55-41 road decision Wednesday afternoon at the Connor Convocation Center to former Great Midwest Athletic Conference foe Thomas More University (10-1, 2-1 G-MAC).

SERIES HISTORY
The New Year's Eve afternoon tilt marked the fourth all-time meeting between the two programs, with the Saints' win evening the series at 2-2. Thomas More joined the G-MAC during Trevecca's final season in the league in 2023-24.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Saints jumped out to an 8-0 lead and held the Trojans scoreless until Shinae Howard Johnson scored on a jumper with 6:02 left in the first quarter. That basket sparked a 9-2 Trevecca run, cutting the Saints' lead to 10-9. Thomas More held on to the lead and was ahead 12-11 after the first 10 minutes.

The Saints opened the second quarter with an 11-2 run, extending their advantage to 10 points at 23-13 with 6:37 remaining in the half. The teams combined to score just five points over the final 6:37, with Trevecca limiting Thomas More to only one point during that stretch. TMU took a 24-17 lead into halftime.

From the 6:37 mark of the second quarter to the 3:19 mark of the third, a span of 13:18 of game time, the Trojans held the Saints to five points. Trevecca took its first lead of the game, 29-28, on a Tatum Shaw 3-pointer with 4:56 remaining in the third quarter, capping a 12-5 run.

Thomas More regained the lead late in the quarter and took a 35-31 advantage into the fourth, despite Trevecca outscoring the Saints 14-11 in the third.

Trevecca's last lead came at 31-30 with 2:17 remaining in the third quarter. The Saints closed the period by scoring the final five points and opened the fourth with four straight, completing a 9-0 run to build a 39-31 lead with 8:05 left.

The Trojans answered with a 7-0 run to pull within three at 41-38 with 5:29 remaining, but the Saints responded with a game-deciding 12-1 run to stretch the lead to 14 points at 53-39 with 21 seconds left. Thomas More outscored Trevecca 20-10 in the fourth quarter to secure the 55-41 victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Trevecca's shooting struggles proved costly, as the Trojans finished at 23.9% (16 of 67) from the field, 12.9% (4 of 31) from beyond the arc, and 55.6% (5 of 9) from the free throw line. Thomas More also held advantages in points in the paint (32-24), fast-break points (11-1), rebounding (46-39) and bench scoring (18-12).

INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Tatum Shaw led Trevecca with 11 points and added seven rebounds.
Cheyenne Trotter recorded a game-high 13 rebounds and scored nine points.
Jordan Gillies finished with nine points and seven rebounds.

UP NEXT
Trevecca returns home Sunday, Jan. 4, for an in-state Gulf South Conference matchup against Lee University (8-3, 4-2 GSC) at Trojan Fieldhouse. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.