Zero wins and 26 losses.

That’s what the Waynesburg University women’s basketball team’s official record is against the Thomas More Saints since it’s last win, which took place Jan. 18, 2006. Head coach Sam Jones is aware that he is far from alone in his struggles against Thomas More. The Saints are officially 169-5 in Presidents’ Athletic Conference play and has a string of 10-of-11 conference titles started in the 2006-07 season—with the one title they are missing was vacated by the NCAA due to rule violations.

With the Saints leaving the conference after this year, Saturday’s contest in Crestview Hills, Kentucky, will be Jones’ last chance to beat them if the teams don’t end up meeting again in the conference tournament.

“My only disappointment [about Thomas More leaving] will be if we don’t ever take them down before they move on,” Jones said.

Waynesburg’s first meeting against the Saints this season, which took place Jan. 10 at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse, was similar to many in years past. Although the Jackets led, 16-15, after the first quarter, the Saints found their rhythm, outscoring Waynesburg 28-6 in the second quarter on their way to an 89-63 win. For Jones, the second quarter was a blemish on what was otherwise a respectable performance.

“Honestly, I thought we did a really nice job against them in quarters one, three and four, quarter two not so much,” Jones said. “[Thomas More is] a very, very good team, very disciplined team, and they make you pay when you make mistakes. That’s really what hurt us in [the second quarter] was that we just didn’t do some of the basics well, and they really made us pay.”

The Jackets turned the ball over 22 times, compared to just six turnovers by Thomas More.

The Saints had five players score in double figures, led by 22 points from senior guard Abby Owings, and 16 each from junior guard Madison Temple and senior forward Nikki Kiernan. Four Yellow Jackets scored in double digits, with 15 points from senior forward Addy Knetzer and 13 each from senior guard Rachel Eng, senior guard/forward MacKenna Drazich and freshman guard Andrea Orlosky.

For Thomas More, Owings and Temple were fifth and eighth in scoring in the PAC as of this publication date, averaging 16.9 and 14.2 points per game, respectively. Temple was eighth in the conference in rebounding with a 6.7 average, and first in assists, averaging 5.6 per game.

“[Thomas More’s success] starts with really talented players,” Jones said. “One of the advantages they have is that they’re not surrounded by Division II schools…I’m pretty sure that probably at least four of their five starters if they were from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, would be at one of the [Divison II schools] in either West Virginia or Pennsylvania. So, a lot of it just starts with really high-end talent, and credit their coaching staff for getting those kids to go there.”

As of Wednesday’s game at Westminster, Thomas More was 20-1 overall and 14-0 in the PAC, two games ahead of second place Washington & Jefferson. The Saints had won 19 consecutive games, with its only loss being a 61-58 loss to Rochester – a team ranked 11th in the nation.

Part of what makes the Saints successful is their depth that compliments their talent. Coming into Wednesday, six Thomas More players were averaging over 10 points per game, with sophomore forward Emily Schultz and junior forward Shelby Rupp not far behind, averaging 9.9 and 9.2 respectively. Collectively, the Saints averaged 86.3 points per game as of Wednesday, ahead of second place Saint Vincent by nearly 14 points for best in the conference.  The Saints defense allowed just 47.9 PPG, tops in the PAC.

As of Wednesday, the Jackets were 12-9 overall and tied with Grove City for fourth in the PAC with an 8-6 conference record. Jones feels that if Waynesburg plays the way they are capable of, they can compete with the Saints.

“They’ve won the conference 11 years in a row, so they are the standard,” Jones said. “To get where we want to get, that’s definitely the team we have to beat. Obviously, that will be a tough battle…But we just have to go down and play the way we’re supposed to play. If we do that, then we’ll be in the game and we’ll see what happens in the end. If we don’t, we won’t [be in the game], and it will be like a lot of our other trips down there. So, it’s a big task, but I think we’re up to the challenge.”