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The Saint Vincent women's basketball team ended the regular season with a road loss to nationally ranked and undefeated Thomas More College, 87-69 in Presidents' Athletic Conference action.
 
Saint Vincent got off to a strong start, with four straight points by Taylor Mathers extending a 6-5 lead to five, 10-5 just over three minutes into play.
 
A three by Jasmine Weems, followed by a layup from Brianna Zajac put the visiting Bearcats ahead by eight, 15-7.
 
Mathers had to sit after picking up two early fouls, and the Saints took the opportunity to mount a comeback.  A missed shot led to a score by Jenny Burgoyne, who then scored again after a turnover at the 14:14 mark. 

After a Bearcat time out, another turnover led to a basket by the conference's leading scorer, Sydney Moss.  Burgoyne and Moss then took control of the game, as the hosts completed a 22-3 run that left them in command, 27-18, with 9:16 to go in the first half.
 
Mathers later returned and scored six straight points for SVC, but the Saints took a 46-35 lead into the halftime break, with Moss tallying 19 points.
 
Down 56-44 in the second half, SVC got a spark from Drew Meeker, who hit a three near the 14-minute mark, followed by an Ally Schmidt putback that cut the margin to just seven, 56-49, with 13:20 on the clock.
 
Thomas More then started to pull away once again, before Jessica Welch scored on a layup and a pair of threes, making the score 69-59 with 7:09 to go.
 
However, the Saints were just too strong, as the nation's #4 team held on for an 87-69 win.  For the Bearcats, the game marked an improvement from the team's earlier meeting in the season, which Thomas More won by 25.  It was also the fourth lowest margin of victory on the year for the Saints, which came into the game with an impressive 41.8 point win margin. 
 
Moss led all scorers on the day with 34 points and 10 rebounds.  Burgoyne added 19 for the Saints (25-0, 18-0 PAC).
 
SVC was led by Mathers, who tallied 17 points in just 18 minutes.  Welch added 12 points, while Schmidt and Mara Benvenuti added 8 each.  Zajac added 7.  Schmidt had a team-high 8 rebounds. 
 
Saint Vincent ends the regular season with an overall record of 17-8, 14-4 in the PAC.  The team has secured second place, and will host a first round playoff game against #7 seed Grove City at 6PM on Tuesday evening in the Carey Center.