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WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Feb. 19) - The Saint Vincent women's basketball team was unable to hold a 19 point lead, dropping a 79-77 decision at Waynesburg in Presidents' Athletic Conference action.
 
With the loss, the Bearcats, who have already clinched second-place and a quarterfinal home game in the upcoming PAC Tournament, fall to 17-7 overall and 14-3 in the league. Waynesburg, who is still battling for seeding, improves to 13-11 overall and 11-6 in the PAC.
 
After taking a 51-34 lead into halftime, junior Ally Schmidt hit a layup under a minute in to stretch the margin to a game-best 19 points, 53-34. From there, Waynesburg went on a 21-0 run that spanned nearly six minutes and included five three-pointers to take its first lead of the game, 55-53, with 12:52 to play.
 
SVC answered with a 7-0 run including a jumper by sophomore Jillian Kegg,  layup by Schmidt and three-point play by sophomore Drew Meeker, re-taking the lead and pushing it to five points, 60-55, in the process.
 
A jumper by junior Elle Collins at 8:09 made it a five-point game, 66-61, again after freshman Mara Benvenuti pulled in an offensive rebound and found Collins as she was falling to the ground.
 
At the 5:57-mark, Waynesburg captured the lead again, 69-68, as part of a 9-0 run that eventually made it a 73-68 game in favor of the hosts.
 
In a 1:01 span, Benvenuti record a fast break layup, Collins hit a three-pointer and senior Taylor Mathers knocked down a pair of free throws, putting SVC back ahead, 75-73, with 3:23 to play.
 
Waynesburg answered with a put-back layup to tie the game, 75-75, with 3:01 showing on the clock and then Mathers put SVC back ahead, 77-75, with 1:12 remaining. Waynesburg's Lauren Blair knocked down the eventual game-winning three-pointer with 1:01 on the clock and a free throw with 11.4 seconds sealed the victory for the hosts.

SVC started the game quickly, posting a 7-0 run over the first 59 seconds of play, prompting a Yellow Jacket time out. The run was started by a three-pointer by Collins eight seconds in and included layups by Schmidt and Mathers.
 
After Waynesburg answered with a 5-0 spurt of its own, SVC scored four points and the two teams traded buckets until the hosts made it a four-point game, 17-13, with 14:03 to go. That prompted a 7-0 run from the Bearcats, as part of a 14-2 run that forced another Waynesburg time out, building the lead to 31-15 with 10:28 in the first half.
 
Saint Vincent would go cold from the field for a span in which Waynesburg cut the margin to eight points, 31-23, with 6:50 on the clock. A 6-0 run in under a minute, highlighted by two Schmidt layups, stretched the margin back to 14 points, 37-23, at the 5:00 mark.
 
The two teams traded buckets for most of the remainder of the period with triples by freshman Hannah Carroll, Collins and freshman Jasmine Weems allowing SVC to extend the lead to 17 points at the break, 51-34.
 
Mathers led SVC with 18 points, 12 of which came in the first half. She added four rebounds. Collins totaled 15 points and Schmidt added 11.
 
SVC finished 41.4 percent (29-of-70) from the field for the game after making 20-of-39 shots in the first half.
 
The Bearcats close out the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 15, traveling to Crestview Hills, Ky., for a 1 p.m. contest with No. 4 Thomas More.