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GREENVILLE, Pa. (Jan. 2) - Five players scored in double figures as the Saint Vincent women's basketball team cruised to a 98-56 win at Thiel in Presidents' Athletic Conference action at Beeghly Gymnasium.
The Bearcats, winners of four of their last five, improve to 8-4 on the season and 4-1 in league play. The Tomcats drop their sixth straight en route to falling to 2-10 on the year and 1-5 in the conference.
Thiel opened up a 4-2 lead before Saint Vincent went on a 14-0 run powered by 10 points by senior guard
Melissa Mansur. The run last 2:48 and included four points by senior forward
Devin McGrath.
A Thiel score stopped the run at 15:50, but the Bearcats then went on a 13-2 run that last nearly five minutes and was started with a three-pointer from sophomore guard
Jessica Welch, 19-6. Sophomore guard
Elle Collins finished the run by scoring the final eight points for SVC, including a pair of triples.
Over the two-plus minutes, Saint Vincent out-scored Thiel, 13-2, with junior forward
Taylor Mathers and sophomore guard
Ally Schmidt each registering four points during the run, 40-11.
A three-pointer by Collins at the 1:21-mark were the final points for the Bearcats in the first half as SVC took a 49-24 lead into halftime, marking the largest scoring half of the season for SVC.
The two teams traded baskets to start the second half before two layups by senior forward
Jordan Clinton started an 8-0 run, including a McGrath jumper and Mathers fastbreak layup, 61-27.
Freshman guard
Ashlee Darby recorded her second three-pointer of the game with 10:39 remaining in the game to give SVC a 73-38 lead, before she hit her third trifecta and added a free throw to stretch the margin to 78-40 with 7:15 to play.
Freshman guard
Jillian Kegg entered the scorebook with a free throw at 2:41 to make it 88-52, and then followed with a three-pointer at 2:24 to stretch the margin to 91-52, with SVC posting the 98-56 final.
For the game, SVC shot 47.1 percent (41-of-87) from the field and attempted 47 more field goals that Thiel (16-of-40; 40.0 percent). The Bearcats established a season high with 11 made three-pointers, finishing 11-of-29 (37.9 percent) from beyond-the-arc. SVC also held a 43-29 advantage on the glass, while committing a season-low three turnovers.
McGrath led all players with 24 points and 15 rebounds, while Mathers added 12 points and five boards in just 19 minutes. Collins collected 11 points, while Darby and Mansur registered 10 points. Mansur also finished with six steals, five rebounds and five assists. Schmidt ended the night with eight points, five assists and five steals.
Thiel senior Kelly Muffley led the Tomcats with 23 points, leaving her five points of 1,000 for her career.
The Bearcats return to action on Saturday, Jan. 5, hosting Bethany at 1 p.m. in the Carey Center. Last season, SVC downed the Bison, 103-50, in Latrobe.