MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – St. Thomas (6-6) defeated Thiel (3-7) 93-51 in a non-conference match up on Wednesday evening at the HoopMIA Classic played on the campus of Barry University.  The Bobcats, who have won five of their last six contests, recorded their largest margin of victory and a season-high in points scored in the victory.

Samara Auguste led all scorers with 25 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 shooting from the beyond the arc to go along with six made free throws.  Auguste also registered seven steals, five rebounds and four assists.  It marked the fourth time this season that Auguste has scored 20 or more points.

Keiana Brooks scored a career-high 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting and dished out a game-high five assists.  Katie Rienas scored 17 points, with 11 coming in the second half, to also score in double figures.  Chakari Merritt added 11 points with five boards.

Kristina Bugarski led all players on the glass with a career-high 12 rebounds to go along with nine points, while Ebony Griffin scored seven points and pulled down seven rebounds. 

Auguste scored 20 points in the first half alone, shooting 7-of-9 from the field and sinking all three of her three-pointer attempts in the opening half.

The Bobcats never trailed in the contest, jumping out to a 6-0 lead to start the game as Brooks and Rienas hit back-to-back layups in the opening 15 seconds of the contest.  Auguste then assisted Brooks on another fast break layup to make it 6-0 just 40 seconds in the game.

STU extended its lead to 15-5 with 3:38 in the first quarter as Auguste hit a layup to give her seven points in the opening period. 

The Bobcats took an 18-11 lead into the second quarter and led by as many as 11 points on three occasions in the period.  Thiel came back with a three-pointer to cut the lead to five points before Auguste hit a three-pointer off an assist by Brooks that gave the Bobcats a 43-35 lead heading into intermission.

In the third quarter a three-pointer by Bugarski off an assist by Griffin caped an 8-0 run that gave the Bobcats a 22-point lead with 3:50 to play in the period.  STU continued to apply pressure on both sides of the ball to take a 65-42 lead into the fourth quarter after outscoring Thiel 22-7 in the third.

The Bobcats opened the fourth quarter with another scoring run with layups byMerritt and Rienas followed by two Auguste free throws.  STU continued its dominance until the final whistle, outscoring TC 28-9 in the final quarter and a whopping 50-13 in the second half.

St. Thomas returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 30 at the Fernandez Family Center when the Bobcats host Talladega College at 6 p.m. as part of the Shula's Hotel Classic.