BOX SCORE

PHOTO GALLERY

by Geo Muzika
The 24th-ranked Saint Vincent Bearcats defeated #22 Messiah College by a score of 67-62 in the Championship of the Hampton Inn Tipoff Classic in Grantham, PA.
 
SVC struck quickly, scoring via a layup in the first five seconds of the game by senior forward Brittany Sedlock. 
 
Messiah gained momentum when they started a 9-0 run two minutes into play.  After the run, Saint Vincent Coach Jimmy Petruska called a timeout so his team could regain focus, and the timeout proved to be a worthy one.  The Bearcats came out of the time out and went on a 9-0 run of their own.
 
The Bearcats' run started with 9:33 left in the first half, and it was started by Sedlock when she drove to the lane and recorded her 1,000th career point.
 
The Falcons quickly tied the game with four points, however, junior forward Jordan Clinton answered the call with four unanswered points of her own for Saint Vincent. 
 
The teams exchanged baskets until just inside of two minutes remaining when Messiah ended the half on a 6-0 run and took a 37-31 lead into halftime.
 
Saint Vincent came out of the locker room ready to play in second half as they opened with nine unanswered points.
 
Despite the Bearcats early success, Messiah found themselves in a favorable situation, as they were in the bonus only five minutes into the second half.  The Falcons went to the line 16 times in the second half converting on 11 of their attempts.
 
Even though the Bearcats were in foul trouble, the depth and talent of their bench played a pivotal role.  Six Bearcats came off the bench during the game to cover valuable minutes.
 
After the teams exchanged baskets for most of the second half, the Bearcats began to pull away when Savannah Hardy and Elle Collins made back to back buckets, making the score 62-56.
 
The scoreboard read 67-62 at the end of regulation and the Bearcats improved to 2-0 on the season while earning the Hampton Inn Tipoff Classic Championship.
 
NOTES...High scorer of the game was Messiah's Kira Maier (20)....The Bearcats high scorer was Sedlock with 18 points and 5 steals, while Collins added 14 and Clinton tied a career-high with 8....Devin McGrath had 11 rebounds and 6 steals....Emily Fenton, who added 9 points, was honored by the tournament directory by being named to the All-Tournament Team....Sedlock was named tournament MVP.