Sioux City, IA – The fifth-seed Patriots women's basketball team got off to a strong start but it wasn't enough as UC fell to top-seed Thomas More 91-61 Tuesday night at the Tyson Event Center.  UC closes out the season with a 24-8 record, which was the most wins since the 2011-12 season.

Kassie Monday led the way for UC with 17 points and eight assists in the game, while Lakin Burke added 14 points and five rebounds.  Kaylie Monday recorded eight points, while tying Victory Fredicks as they both grabbed six boards.  Amerah Steele chipped in seven points in the game.

The two teams opened the game trading baskets before Kassie Monday connected with Kaylie Monday for a three-pointer putting Cumberlands in front 5-2, two minutes into the first quarter.  Thomas More netted six unanswered points before Channing Lewis and Kassie Monday each added a layup to put UC back in front 9-8 with 3:26 left.  Kassie Monday and Steele each drained a three-pointer before Kaedlee Potter sank a 10-foot jumper to extend the lead to 16-11.  In the closing seconds of the quarter, Kassie Monday drove to the lane and hit a pull-up jumper to give UC an 18-13 advantage.

The Saints opened the second period on a 7-2 run before Kaylie Monday found Burke on the block for a bucket give UC a 22-20 edge.  The two teams traded the lead as Burke added her second jumper of the quarter, this one of an assist from Kassie Monday with make it 24-22.  From that point, Thomas More went on a 19-3 run that spanned the final five minutes of the period to take a 41-27 advantage.

Kassie Monday netted UC's first four points of the third quarter, however, Thomas More was able to extend their lead to 49-31 with 7:15 left.  Kaylie Monday notched a jumper and recorded a steal on the next possession as Burke finished with a jumper cutting the deficit to 51-35 midway through the quarter.  The teams traded points until Cumberlands earned three-point plays from Victory Fredricks and Kassie Monday to make it 62-46 with under a minute left.  The Saints hit a pair of three's to take the 68-48 lead into the fourth quarter. 

Thomas More opened the fourth quarter on an 11-4 run before Kassie Monday connected with Lewis for a three-pointer.  Kassie Monday found Burke on the post twice, before adding a layup of her own as Thomas More pulled away for the 91-61 final.

While the season has come to a close this Patriots team has etched their name in the record books.  Their 16 conference wins are the most in program history and they set an NAIA Tournament Record along with a program record for most combined points in a game in their 117-108 triple overtime win over Midway.  They are also just the second team to win multiple NAIA tournament games in the same postseason, while they were just the fifth team in history to advance to the Round of 16.

Individually, Kassie Monday became UC's single season assist leader, dishing out 203 dimes over the season, while she also notched 100 career steals.  Destiny Haworth set the single season mark converting 46.5% from behind-the-arc, while her career 45.7% from three-point range ranks first in program history.  Fredricks' 44 blocks are the second most for a single season, while Lakin Burke holds the second-best field goal percentage at 62.8%.  Finally, Kaylie Monday tallied 87 steals on the year, which is third most for a season, while her 150 career steals rank sixth all-time.

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