BOX SCORE

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The Saint Vincent Bearcats defeated the Chatham Cougars 87-69 in their Presidents' Athletic Conference opener at the Robert S. Carey Center.  

Each team caught fire for a period of time during the first half.  The first 13 minutes was even on both sides as neither team gained a lead of more than five points (Chatham 9-4) until the Bearcats opened an 11-1 run that gave them an 11 point lead at the 8-minute mark. 

After both teams exchanged baskets on the next two possessions, Chatham went on an 8-0 run that brought them to within two. That was as close as the Cougars would get for the remainder of the first half as the Bearcats took a 44-37 lead into the break.  

Chatham's Rachel McClain led all scores after one half with 11 points while junior guard Elle Collins and freshmen guard Mara Benvenuti led the way for the Bearcats with eight points each.  

The second half was all Saint Vincent out of the gate.  Collins, along with sophomore guard Ashlee Darby, scored six of the first eight points of the half eventually leading to a 7-0 Saint Vincent run capped by freshmen forward Brianna Zajac that extended the Bearcat lead to 14. 

After Chatham ended the run with a quick two points, the Bearcats went on a 17-0 run started by junior guard Jessica Welch  at the 14:06 mark in the second half.  Taylor Mathers hit four consecutive shots during the run, and Jillian Kegg ended the streak with a bucket at the 8:32 mark.  

From there, the hosts cruised to an 18-point victory.  

Collins was tops on the SVC side of the ledger with 16 points, while Mathers added 12 to go along with a team-high 7 rebounds.  Benvenuti scored 10 points, while Brianna Zajac added 9 and Kegg scored 8.

Game high scorer Rachel McClain was the star of the night for the Cougars, tallying 19 points and shooting 4-9 from beyond the arc.  She also added 7 assists.   Emily Schmidt scored 14, while Jesse Hinkle grabbed a game-high 13 boards.

Saint Vincent is now 3-2 overall, 1-0 in the PAC.  Chatham drops to 1-6 (0-1 PAC).  The Bearcats will return to action in a PAC matchup at 2PM on Saturday on the road at Westminster College.