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WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Jan. 16) – Sophomore guard Elle Collins set a new career high with 23 points as the Saint Vincent women's basketball team earned a 72-54 win at Waynesburg in Presidents' Athletic Conference action at Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse.
 
With the win, the Bearcats improve to 11-5 on the year and 7-2 in the PAC. Waynesburg falls to 7-9 this year and 6-3 in the league after advancing to the conference semifinals last season.
 
The Bearcats started the game on a 9-0 run that lasted the first 2:25. Collins started the scoring with a layup at 19:31. A layup by sophomore guard Ally Schmidt came before Collins' first of four three-pointers of the night. A jumper by senior forward Devin McGrath was the final score of the run and put SVC ahead, 9-0.
 
Waynesburg then embarked on an 8-2 run that lasted just under two minutes, but the run was stopped by a McGrath trifecta at the 13:11-mark, 14-8.

The Yellow Jackets began to cut into the Bearcats' lead, with the only SVC points during a 10 minute span being scored by Collins on a traditional three-point play and a shot from beyond-the-arc, which pushed the lead to five points, 22-17, with 5:40 left.
 
The Bearcats final points of the half came on Collins' third three-pointer of the half with 54 seconds remaining. Waynesburg's Brittany Spencer recorded a layup as time expired in the first half to send SVC into the locker room ahead, 29-27.
 
Saint Vincent opened up a lead in the second half by out-scoring Waynesburg, 20-7, in the first 10 minutes.  After the Bearcats built the lead to 51-39 with nine minutes remaining, an 8-0 run stretched the margin to 20 points, 59-39, at 6:33.
 
Waynesburg made the game as close as 12 points, with 1:33 remaining, but SVC out-scored the Jackets, 10-4 over the final 1:18.
 
SVC shot 37.7 percent (23-of-61) from the field, while holding Waynesburg to 31.7 percent (19-of-60) from the floor and just 1-of-14 (7.1 percent) from three-point range after the Yellow Jackets made 62.5 percent (10-of-16) three-pointers against SVC at Marisa Fieldhouse last season.
 
Collins led all players with 23 points, the first time in her career she surpassed 20 points. McGrath finished with her fifth-straight double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds. Schmidt totaled 10 points, five boards and three steals. Senior guard Melissa Mansur posted a line of six points, eight rebounds and six steals in the win.
 
Spencer led Waynesburg with 18 points, surpassing the 1,000-point plateau for her career in the process. Paige Pearce added 10 points in the loss.
 
SVC will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 19, hosting Chatham at 2 p.m. in the Carey Center. The Bearcats posted a 71-46 win over the Cougars in Pittsburgh earlier in the season.