BOX SCORE

PHOTO GALLERY

The Saint Vincent women's basketball team won its Presidents' Athletic Conference opener on the road at Chatham University by a score of 90-55.

Taylor Mathers and Shalia Williams each scored 21 points on the night to lead the offense, while the defense recorded 18 steals and forced 26 turnovers by the Cougars.

Mathers set the tone for the game early, scoring on a putback just over a minute into play to put SVC in front, 2-0.

A Drew Meeker three-pointer at the 17:20 mark made the score 7-2, and the lead eventually ran to 16-5.
 
The Cougars then went on a 7-2 run to narrow the margin to 18-12 at the 9:48 mark of the first half, but a long two by Mara Benvenuti was followed by several scores from Mathers.
 
Up 27-16, SVC got five straight points from Susie Ellis to make the score 32-16, and the Bearcats took a 39-20 lead into the half, with Mathers accounting for 15 points.
 
Early in the second half, Ally Schmidt was the dominant player for SVC, adding six points in a three-minute span, running the advantage to 47-29.  Williams then hit a turnaround jumper at the 13:05 mark that extended the lead to 20.
 
After back-to-back threes from Chatham, Jill Kegg scored to end the mini-run, and Williams then added two more scores that helped increase the lead.
 
Up 57-40, Kegg and Jessica Welch hit consecutive three pointers to make it a 25-point game, 65-40.
 
The lead reached 30 points, 79-49, with a three from Ellis with 4:30 left in the second half, and the Bearcats kept up the tempo, winning their conference opener in convincing fashion.

Mathers finished with her seventh career double-double, adding a game-high 12 rebounds.  For Williams, a junior transfer, the 21 points was her highest total as a Bearcat.

Schmidt and Ellis added 8 points each, while Welch and Benvenuti each scored 7.  Schmidt and Hannah Carroll each had three steals, while Jasmine Weems had 6 assists.

Saint Vincent is now 4-0 overall, 1-0 in the PAC.  The team will host Geneva College on Saturday, December 6 at 4PM in the Carey Center.