PITTSBURGH — 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 season.
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Jessica Vormelker, a Grand Valley graduate, is Thiel’s head coach.
“Being .500 at this point in the season is a testament to every single person in our program,” she said. “From our starters, to reserves to coaching staff, every person has a role to the start we’ve had.”
Vormelker said the whole program is buying into the system.
“The players really love each other and have taken ownership of the program,” she said. “There is joy in our program, and that is a huge blessing.”
Thiel opened the second half on a 9-0 run capped with an Issy Green fastbreak layup to turn a 30-23 halftime edge into a 39-23 advantage at the 5:57 mark.
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The Celtics (1-11, 1-3 AMCC) answered with the next six to get back within 10 at 39-29 before an Emily Betsinger layup kickstarted a 13-4 quarter-ending run to push Thiel ahead 52-33 after three quarters.
Green had a season-best 21 points on 8-of-16 from the field and 4-of-6 at the line.
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.
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As a team, the Tomcats had 10 blocked shots, their 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% (17-of-68) from the field.
Thiel held 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.
