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LATROBE, Pa. (Jan. 20) - The Saint Vincent women's basketball team opened the game with 23 straight points as they rolled to an 87-38 victory over Chatham University in Presidents' Athletic Conference action at the Carey Center. 

Saint Vincent was dominant throughout, building a 29-5 advantage after the first quarter. The Bearcats opened the game with back-to-back three pointers from Mara Benvenuti and Bri Van Volkenburg. After a layup by Babette Sanmartin, SVC added four free throws to extend the edge into double figures at 10-0. Montrose would add back-to-back transition layups to make it 16-0 Bearcats with 4:24 left in the quarter. 

Boring would then add five straight points off the bench, including her first three to extend the advantage to 21-0. After a layup by Kayla Slovenec, the Cougars would split a pair at the free throw line to make it 23-1 with 1:57 left in the opening quarter. Boring would knock down two more treys in the opening quarter to make it 29-5 after 10 minutes. 

The Bearcats then outscored the Cougars by a 16-13 margin in the second quarter to build a 46-18 halftime lead. Chatham would open the second quarter on an 8-3 run to close within 19 (32-13). However, Van Volkenburg would convert a layup and Benvenuti would add a three to put SVC up 37-13 at the 4:20 mark of the second. Kiara Arnold closed the first half with back-to-back field goals to make it 46-18. 

Maria Morgan tallied seven early third quarter points, including a fastbreak layup to make it 58-21 with 6:15 to play in the quarter. Holding a 60-29 lead late in the third, the Bearcats closed the quarter with six straight points, capped by a layup by Jenna Lafko to close the third with a 66-29 score. 

A jumper by Lucy Bujdos early in the fourth pushed the lead over 40 points (73-32) with 8:31 to play. The fourth quarter belonged to Vaughn, as she recorded all of her career-high 10 points in the final quarter. 

Four Bearcats finished in double figures scoring with Taylor Boring leading the way with a game-high 14 points. Paige Montrose added 10 points and a team-high six rebounds. Maria Morgan and Stephanie Vaughn also chipped in 10 points each. Mara Benvenuti filled the stat sheet with 9 points, 6 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 assists. Van Volkenburg added five points, five rebounds and a career-high five assists. 

The win moves Saint Vincent to 10-7 overall and 7-3 in PAC play. Meanwhile, Chatham drops to 4-13 overall and 2-8 in league contests. 

Saint Vincent shot 49.2 percent from the field, including a strong 12 of 23 from behind the three-point line. The Bearcats also converted 13 of 16 at the free throw line. The Bearcat defense limited Chatham to just nine made field goals and 18 percent from the field in the game. The Cougars connected on 17 of 26 at the charity stripe. SVC forced 24 turnovers while also out-rebounding Chatham 43-36. 

Saint Vincent continues its string of home games when they host rival W&J in PAC action on Wednesday, Jan. 24. Start time is set for 5:30 p.m.