Crestview Hills, KY – The second-ranked UC women's lacrosse team had eight players with at least three points in the game led by a career day from
Aleyah Belton as Cumberlands closed out their regular season with a 24-5 win over Thomas More. The Patriots improve to 15-1 on the year and extend their win streak to 14 straight, while the Saints move to 6-9.
Belton notched a career-high four assists and eight points, while scooping a team-high four ground balls.
Emma Rittman added five goals, six points, 11 draw controls, and four ground balls. Those four ground balls give her a program leading 63 on the season, while her 130 draw controls leads the NAIA.
Anna Lobbezoo and
Reegan Hensley tallied five points each, while Ricchiazzi chipped in four goals, giving her 75 of the season.
Hadac won the opening draw control of the game and on UC's first possession
Mia Rask connected with
Aleyah Belton for a goal 14 seconds into the first quarter. Three minutes later, Cumberlands extended their lead as
Emma Rittman netted an unassisted goal before connecting with
Reegan Hensley for a man-up goal to make it 3-0 with 7:59 remaining. Thomas More looked for an answer however
Olivia McCarrell made a pair of saves to keep the Saints off the board, while UC added two goals within a mine span to make it 5-0. The two teams traded goals before
Reese Kincaid dished out her second assist of the afternoon this time finding Hensley for goal in the closing seconds to give the Patriots a 7-1 advantage.
The Patriots continued their offensive efficiency into the second quarter as Lobbezoo connects with Rittman for her second goal of the game. UC won the next three draw controls and converted them into goals to make it 11-1. The two teams traded goals before Lobbezoo found Ricchiazzi in front of the cage for a goal as the Patriots took a 13-2 advantage. After a Terpstra goal, Belton tallied an assist and a goal to extend Cumberlands lead to 16-2 at halftime.
Hadac won the opening draw control of the third quarter and quickly found Rask for a goal, nine seconds into the second half. Belton added a goal and an assist to Ricchiazzi to give Cumberlands a 19-2 advantage with 9:31 remaining.
Mia Bosah added a pair of saves before the Saints added a pair of goals late in the quarter to cut the lead to 19-4.
Cumberlands added four straight goals to open the fourth quarter and extend their lead to 23-4. After a Lobbezoo goal, Rittman won three consecutive draw controls as she netted a pair of goals herself during that run.
Reese Kincaid notched an unassisted goal in the closing minutes for the 24-5 final.
The Patriots outshot the Saints 41-12 in the game and scooped 21 draw controls and 20 ground balls.
UC have earned the top seed in the AAC Tournament and will face the winner of Montreat and Truett McConnell in the semifinals on Friday, April 21. The game is set to begin at 1 p.m.
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