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PITTSBURGH (Nov. 17) - The Saint Vincent women's basketball team rallied from a 29-24 halftime deficit and senior forward topped 1,000 points for her career as the Bearcats downed host La Roche, 61-50, in the final game of the La Roche Classic.

With the win, the Bearcats improve to 1-1 on the season while the Redhawks fall to 1-1 on the year.

McGrath led all scorers with 22 points, while also adding 16 rebounds to become the 25th player in program history to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau. Following the game, she was named to the All-Tournament team after averaging 25.5 points and 15.5 rebounds per game in the season-opening tournament.

The Bearcats scored the first five points of the game on a three-pointer by sophomore guard Jessica Welch and a jumper by McGrath, but La Roche, who won the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference last season, scored the next eight points to take an 8-5 lead with nearly six minutes gone in the game.

A McGrath jumper and layup were the only points SVC scored over the next three-plus minutes as the Redhawks moved the lead to 14-9 with 10:12 remaining in the first period. A jumper by sophomore guard Elle Collins and free throw by classmate Jessica Hentrel putt the Bearcats within two points, but La Roche used an 11-0 run to take a 25-12 lead with 7:25 remaining in the half.

McGrath then started a 10-0 Bearcat run in which she and junior forward Ariel Rocco each scored four points, as SVC got it within three points, 25-22, with 2:53 to go in the first half. A McGrath layup was sandwiched by two scores from La Roche and the hosts took a 29-24 lead into the intermission.

SVC opened the scoring in the second half when Collins hit one of two free throws after a La Roche technical foul. After a Redhawk score, SVC put together a 9-0 run with senior forward Jordan Clinton scoring four of the nine points and McGrath adding the other five. A three-pointer by McGrath gave SVC the lead, 32-31 at the 16:45 mark for the first time since it was 5-0 at 16:37 left in the first half.

With a three-point play at 14:05, McGrath reached 1,000-career points and 20 points in the game. La Roche made it a two-point game, 37-35, with 13:18 left, but freshman guard Ashlee Darby scored five-straight points on put-backs and a free throw to push SVC ahead, 42-35, before Collins made a jumper to put the Bearcats up nine points, 44-35.

After a Redhawk bucket ended the run, Clinton bookended a put-back layup by senior guard Melissa Mansur with layups to put SVC ahead 13 points, 50-37, with 8:19 left in the game.

La Roche got as close as five points, 54-49, down the stretch, but SVC scored the final five points over the last 1:04 to seal the 61-50 victory.

SVC shot a low 30.1 perfect (22-of-73) from the field for the game and just 12.5 percent (2-of-16) from three-point range. SVC held La Roche to 34.5 percent (19-of-55) from the floor and an abysmal 9.5 percent (2-of-21) from beyond-the-arc. The Bearcats held a 44-34 lead in rebounding, despite a game-high 19 rebounds from La Roche's Jessica Pitts.

Clinton added 10 points to join McGrath in double-figures, while also chipping in seven rebounds. Collins added seven points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists, while Rocco contributed six points and five rebounds. Darby scored five points and registered four rebounds off the bench in her second career game.

SVC is now idle until Saturday, Nov. 24, when it travels to Wilmington (Ohio) for a tournament. The Bearcats will play Hendrix (Ark.) in the first game on Saturday at 8 p.m.