PITTSBURGH (Dec. 16) -- The Thiel College Women's Basketball team, behind a 22-10 third-quarter run, eased past Carlow University 65-49 in non-conference action Tuesday evening from Donahue Pavilion on the campus of Oakland Catholic High School in Pittsburgh.
With the win, the Tomcats (5-5, 0-2 PAC) enter the Christmas break at .500 for the first time since the 2008-09 season. Thiel's five wins are its most since the 2021-22 campaign. The win also marks the first time Thiel has held an opponent under 50 points since Nov. 16, 2016, a 68-43 win over Penn College in Greenville.
Thiel opened the second half on a 9-0 run capped with an
Issy Green (Slippery Rock, Pa./Portersville Christian) fastbreak layup to turn a 30-23 halftime edge into a 39-23 advantage at the 5:57 mark. The Celtics (1-11, 1-3 AMCC) answered with the next 6 to get back within 10 at 39-29 before an
Emily Betsinger (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) layup kickstarted a 13-4 quarter-ending spurt to push Thiel ahead 52-33 after three quarters.
Green dominated in all facets of the game with a contest-and-season-best 21 points on 8-of-16 from the field and 4-of-6 at the line. She had a career-and-game-most five blocked shots and held game bests in assists (seven) and steals (five) while snagging seven boards.
Green leads the PAC and is in the top 20 of DIII with 5.1 assists per game. Her mark in steals (41) leads the conference and is tied for fifth in DIII while her 4.1 steals per game, also a PAC-most, are 12th in the nation.
Betsinger, the two-time reigning PAC Newcomer of the Week, posted 11 points on 5-of-9 and had a career-most three steals to go with four boards.
Carlow opened the second quarter with 6-of-8 to jump ahead 20-18 at the 8:40 mark. A
Jensen Stehlik (Sagamore Hills, Ohio/Nordonia) and-1 jumpstarted a 12-0 Thiel run that ended on a
Kayley Risser (Reynoldsville, Pa./Dubois Central Catholic) jumper to make it 30-20 with 2:54 left in the half. The home side notched the last 3 of the half to make it 30-23 at the break.
Risser recorded a near-double-double with 16 points on 7-of-14 and nine boards while swiping three steals. Stehlik pitched in 5 points while tying her career best with three steals and grabbing four boards.
The Blue and Gold opened the game on an 8-1 run as
Caitlin Stephens (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex), Betsinger, Risser and Green each had buckets. A pair of free throws from Stephens grew the lead to 17-8 with 1:30 left in the quarter.
Stephens added 6 points and a team-leading 10 boards to go with a pair of blocked shots. While not making the scoresheet,
Madison Pfleger (Hermitage, Pa./Kennedy Catholic) notched career highs in assists (five), steals (four) and rebounds (three).
As a team, the Tomcats had 10 blocked shots, its highest total since Feb. 8, 2012 at Geneva when they also had 10. The Blue and Gold swiped a season-most 18 steals in the win and caused 23 turnovers while holding Carlow to 25 percent (17-of-68) from the field.
Thiel dominated down low, holding a 46-18 edge in points in the paint. The Tomcats also held advantages in points off turnovers (24-9) and fast-break points (20-12).
The Tomcats will be off for the next two weeks over the Christmas holiday before returning to the hardwood on Dec. 30 for a 7 p.m. non-conference clash at Mount Union.
