SAINT MARY-OF-THE-WOODS, Ind. -- The Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College women's basketball team celebrated Senior Day with a commanding 71-51 victory over IU-Kokomo in their regular season home finale at Knoerle Center. The game marked the final home appearance for a star-studded senior class of 10 Pomeroys.

SMWC (15-13, 7-9 RSC) dominated from start to finish, never trailing in the game. The Pomeroys led 15-12 after the first quarter and extended their lead to 33-23 by halftime. A strong third quarter, where they outscored IU-Kokomo 21-10, put the game out of reach.

Senior guard Irye Gomez led the charge for the Pomeroys with a game-high 24 points, including seven 3-pointers. Teammates Diamond Bryant and Madison Fueger added 10 and 8 points, respectively, while Gomez and Fueger each contributed five rebounds. SMWC shot 40.6% from the field, including 37.9% from beyond the arc, and out-rebounded IU-Kokomo 41-43.

Abby Worley recorded an assist in the game's fourth quarter which gives her 392 for her career and is a new SMWC women's basketball career school record. 

The Pomeroys started strong with Diamond Bryant hitting a 3-pointer to open the game, assisted by Irye Gomez, giving SMWC a quick 3-0 lead. The Cougars answered with a tip-in by Mackenzie York to tie the game at 3-3.

The first half of the quarter saw both teams trading baskets. Madison Fueger put the Pomeroys up 5-3 with a jumper assisted by Gomez, and later, Bryant added another 3-pointer, assisted by Brooklynn Jones, to extend the lead to 9-5.

IU-Kokomo responded with a jumper by Kelsi Langley, but the Pomeroys kept the pressure on with another 3-pointer from Gomez to take a 14-9 advantage. Anna Kiser's jumper brought the Cougars within 14-11, but a free throw by Madison White pushed the lead back to 15-11 for SMWC with just over a minute remaining.

The Cougars managed to get one more free throw from Mia Catey, but SMWC ended the quarter with a 15-12 lead.

The Pomeroys began the period with Destiny Thomas' fastbreak layup, pushing the lead to 17-12. IU-Kokomo responded with a steal by Cameryn Rector, followed by a fastbreak layup, cutting the deficit to 17-14. However, SMWC maintained control as Irye Gomez hit a key 3-pointer to extend the lead to 20-17.

Both teams struggled with shooting in the middle of the quarter, missing multiple layups and jumpers. But the Pomeroys found success when Gomez connected again from beyond the arc, increasing the lead to 23-19. A fastbreak layup by Samara Douglas pushed SMWC's lead to 25-19, and a 3-pointer by Gomez made it 26-19 with just over three minutes left in the half.

IU-Kokomo fought back with a layup by Anna Kiser to trim the lead to 28-21, but the Pomeroys quickly regained control. Madison Fueger capitalized on a fastbreak to extend the lead to 30-21, followed by a free throw, giving SMWC a 31-21 advantage with less than a minute remaining.

Kiser's layup was the last basket for the Cougars before the break, as Thomas hit two free throws in the final seconds, giving the Pomeroys a commanding 33-23 lead at halftime.

The Pomeroys maintained their dominant lead throughout the final period, starting with a layup from Madison White to push the score to 54-34. Anna Kiser and Hope McGuire then combined for consecutive points, with Kiser adding two free throws, followed by a McGuire jumper and free throw, extending SMWC's advantage to 64-39 with just under six minutes remaining.

IU-Kokomo managed to break the scoring drought briefly, with Kiser's layup bringing the Cougars to 39 points at the 6:02 mark. However, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College continued to respond efficiently. A 3-pointer from Aubrey Burgess and a jumper from Diamond Bryant put SMWC up 69-43, nearing the final minutes of play.

Despite the heavy deficit, the Cougars didn't go down without a fight, as they made a late push with a tip-in from Kiser and a layup from Cameryn Rector to cut the gap to 71-49 with seconds remaining. The Pomeroys secured the win comfortably after that, with a final free throw by Moriah Crawford rounding out the scoring at 71-51.

IU-Kokomo (10-17, 6-10 RSC) struggled offensively, shooting just 31.7% from the floor, with only one 3-pointer out of 17 attempts. Anna Kiser led the Cougars with 17 points, while Mia Catey contributed nine points and six rebounds.

The Pomeroys now look ahead to the River States Conference Tournament, which begins Wednesday, February 26. The time and location of their opening round game will be announced soon.