BOX SCOREPHOTO GALLERYFive players scored in double figures as the Saint Vincent women's basketball team remained undefeated in Presidents' Athletic Conference play, defeating Waynesburg by a score of 85-73 in the Carey Center.
Taylor Mathers equaled her career high with 26, while
Jessica Welch added 13. Â
Jasmine Weems and
Ally Schmidt scored 12 each, while
Mara Benvenuti tallied 11 points on the evening, as SVC improved to 11-1 overall on the season.
Saint Vincent scored the game's first six points, and by the 15:45 mark were ahead by ten, 12-2, with Mathers accounting for 8 points. Â The lead was 16-4 before the Jackets regrouped and scored the game's next eight points to make it 16-12 with 11:20 remaining in the first half.
The gap was still at four points when
Jill Kegg hit a long three at the 7:40 mark to make the score 25-18, but Waynesburg scored the game's next five points, to make it a 2-point margin with 7:06 remaining.
SVC then went on an 11-1 run over the next three minutes, with Kegg hitting another three with 5:45 on the clock. Â Two minutes later, a Welch three pointer made the score 38-26, but the visitors scored the final five points of the half to make the score 38-31 at the break.
Waynesburg continued its hot streak, outscoring SVC 7-4 in the opening three minutes of the second half to cut the lead to just four (42-38), but Welch hit a pair of threes on either side of a layup by Mathers, making it 50-38. Â
Weems later hit a shot from outside the arc at the 11:30 mark that ran the lead to 62-44, but the Jackets refused to give up, scoring 8 consecutive points to drop the lead to 10. Â Schmidt scored with 8:18 to go to end the run, and the Bearcats maintained a double-digit lead until the 3:45 mark, when a Waynesburg bucket made the score 71-62.
After a Bearcat time out, Mathers hit a turnaround jumper in the paint, but the Jackets followed with a three to cut the deficit to eight, 73-65, but Mathers put the game away with a three-point play, followed by a putback with just under two minutes remaining.
Schmidt recorded a double-double, with 11 rebounds to go along with her 12 points and 5 assists. Â Benvenuti also had 5 assists, while Mathers grabbed six rebounds. Â
The Bearcats are now 5-0 in the PAC, and will host Grove City College in the Carey Center at 4:00 on Saturday, January 10.
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