BOX SCORE

PHOTO GALLERY

The Saint Vincent women's basketball team advanced to the Presidents' Athletic Conference Final Four tournament with a 64-39 victory in the Carey Center against Grove City College.

The Bearcats, entering as the #2 seed, dominated the game from the start.  Elle Collins put the hosts up 5-2 with a three pointer just over 3 minutes into the game.  A three by Jessica Welch later ran the lead to ten, 14-4, and the Bearcat defense then took control.  The Bearcats concluded a 12-point run with a bucket by Hannah Carroll that made the score 23-4, as the Wolverines went nearly 10 minutes without a point.

Grove City, the tournament's #7 seed, was unable to get quality shots against a stifling Bearcat defense, not reaching double-figures as a team until the 3:14 mark of the first half.   Saint Vincent led by a score of 33-14 at the break, and the outcome was never in doubt.

In the second half, the Bearcats used buckets by Ally Schmidt and Taylor Mathers to stretch the lead to 23 points with under 19 minutes to go. After Mara Benvenuti hit a layup and later a three-pointer, a quick 5-0 spurt by the Wolverines cut the margin back to 19 points with under 15:30 on the clock.

The two teams were playing back-and-forth basketball for the next six minutes, when a pair of Grove City free throws made it a 50-29 game with 9:17 remaining. SVC utilized a 9-2 run that spanned three minutes to stretch the margin to a game-high 28 points with 6:22 showing on the clock on a pair of free throws by Jillian Kegg.

Saint Vincent out-scored Grove City,  32-8, in the paint and recorded 28 points off of 26 Wolverine turnovers. The guests did not score a point off of any of SVC's 13 turnovers. GCC, however, did hold a commanding 49-33 advantage in rebounds.

Senior Elle Collins led all scorers with 17 points in just 22 minutes of play.  Benvenuti, playing in her first collegiate post-season game, added 12, while Mathers added 9 points and five rebounds.

Kathryn Erbelding tallied 12 points and 8 rebounds for the Wolverines, while Hannah Jo Coneby also grabbed eight boards.

Saint Vincent is now 18-8 overall and will travel to Crestview Hills, KY for the women's Final Four tournament, which will be hosted by #1 seed Thomas More, which is now 26-0 and ranked third in the nation.  On Friday, SVC will play #3 seed Washington & Jefferson at 5:30PM, while the host Saints will battle fifth-seeded Waynesburg at 7:30PM.

The All-PAC teams will be announced between the two semifinal games on Friday.