BOX SCORE

PITTSBURGH (Nov. 16) - The Saint Vincent women's basketball team out-scored Juniata, 43-34 and senior forward Devin McGrath scored 29 points, but it wasn't enough to rally from a halftime deficit as the Bearcats fell, 68-64, in the opening game of the La Roche Classic.

With the loss, the Bearcats start the 2012-13 season 0-1, marking the first time that SVC has lost the season opener since the 2007-08 campaign. Juniata, who also made the NCAA Division III National Tournament in each of the last two seasons, begins 1-0. The two teams will play again on Saturday, Dec. 15, at 2 p.m. in Huntingdon, Pa.

SVC trailed, 34-21, at halftime after taking its first lead of the game, 19-18, with just under five minutes to play in the first half. The Eagles were able to close out the period on a 16-2 run to head into the locker room up by 12 points.

In the second half, Juniata scored first to stretch the margin to 15 points, and eventually the lead was 14 points with 16:08 to play in the game. Saint Vincent cut the margin to single digits at 11:28 with a three-pointer by senior guard Melissa Mansur, 47-39, that sparked a 6-0 run to make it a five-point game with 10:00 to play. In all, it was a part of a 9-2 run that was capped off when sophomore guard Elle Collins converted one-of-two free throws following a technical on the Juniata bench.

Trailing by nine, 57-48, with under six minutes remaining, McGrath hit three-pointers on back-to-back trips down the court and Mansur made two free throws to lead an 8-0 run and put SVC within one point, 57-56, with 4:36 to play.

Juniata responded with a 7-0 run that lasted more than two minutes and was stopped by a jumper by sophomore guard Jessica Welch at the 1:33 mark. McGrath would convert a traditional three-point play with 41 seconds left and knock down a trifecta as time expired, but Juniata was able to hang on for the 68-64 victory.

For the game, SVC shot 43.1 percent (25-of-58) from the field, behind 50 percent (16-of-32) in the second half, while holding Juniata to 33.9 percent (21-of-62), including just nine made field goals in the second half.

The Golden Eagles held a substantial 42-26 margin on rebounds, while SVC posted helpers on 16 buckets compared to 13 by Juniata.

McGrath led all scorers with 29 points, the second highest point total of her career after scoring 31 points against York (Pa.) in last season's NCAA Tournament. The 5-9 senior also added 15 rebounds, three assists and two steals in the loss. Collins finished with 13 points, while Welch added eight markers. Mansur and sophomore Ally Schmidt each registered seven points, with Schmidt also recording four rebounds, four steals and three assists. Sophomore Jessica Hentrel dished out four assists in her debut.

Jordan Speck led Juniata with 19 points behind five-of-eight from beyond-the-arc. Preseason All-American Kate McDonald turned in a double-double for the Eagles with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

The Bearcats return to the court tomorrow, Saturday, Nov., 17 taking on host and defending-Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference champion La Roche at 4 p.m.