“Every team wants that ring at the end of the day,” said junior captain Zoie Barth just a few days before she became a National Champion, “but I think it is important to live in the moment and take it one game at a time.”
That is exactly what the 2022 Thomas More Women’s Basketball Team did. Their journey to being crowned NAIA National Champions arguably began a year ago. They found themselves in the confetti for the other team, just short of every team’s goal to be undoubtedly the best.
This year, the Saints went marching onto the court at the final buzzer as National Champions. This is not the only difference between this year’s tournament to last year. The 2021 NAIA National Tournament was highly restricted due to Covid-19 precautions. Players and team personnel were tested daily, fans were very limited, and the gym was quiet.
In the 2021 Championship, the Saints also had to play without Zoie who had suffered a knee injury late in the Semifinal game just the day before. None of this adversity was able to hold her or the Saints back from coming back even better to win it all in 2022.
“I feel very grateful to be back full circle from my knee injury,” said Zoie. “It has been a really long road to recovery but playing makes every step of the journey worth it.” And what a journey it was.
From the Opening Round hosted by Thomas More University through the entire tournament in Sioux City, Iowa, the Saints outscored their opponents by nearly 100 points. They dominated this tournament winning all but one game by ten points or more.
The Thomas More Saints finish their season with a 32-4 record as NAIA National Champions.
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