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LATROBE, Pa. (Jan. 27) - Behind 10 made three-pointers in the first half, the Saint Vincent women's basketball team overpowered Geneva by an 89-36 score in Presidents' Athletic Conference action at the Carey Center. 

Fresh off its win over conference rival W&J on Wednesday, Saint Vincent played a strong 40 minutes against the Golden Tornadoes. Some efficient first half shooting helped SVC to a 24-6 lead after the first quarter before eventually building a 55-21 halftime advantage. The 55 first half points represented the most points scored in a single half this season for the Green and Gold. 

Geneva opened the contest with a layup by Jodie Carlson. However, that was short-lived, as Maria Morgan answered with a three-pointer at the other end. After a steal and layup by Paige Montrose made it 5-2 SVC, Mara Benvenuti drained a three-pointer. Another three from Morgan and a free throw by Babette Sanmartin made it 12-4 Saint Vincent with 4:39 left in the first. A jumper by Kiara Arnold and Morgan's third successful three-pointer of the first helped push the lead to 17-5. Holding a 17-6 lead after a Geneva free throw, Saint Vincent ended the first quarter with seven straight points to hold a 24-6 lead after 10 minutes. 

Taylor Boring and Kayla Slovenec combined for three consecutive three-pointers to make it 35-8 early in the second quarter. After a three by Geneva's Callie Ford, Boring responded quickly with another trey of her own to make it 38-11 at the 6:40 mark. A little later, a layup from Arnold and a steal and layup by Slovenec pushed the first half lead to 46-15. Morgan and Benvenuti capped the first half with back-to-back three pointers to give the Bearcats a 55-21 at halftime. 

Saint Vincent continued its hot shooting early in the second half, using a 11-0 run to build a 66-21 lead over the GT's. Montrose and Morgan combined for all 11 points during the scoring run. The Bearcats continued to hold a lead of at leas 39 points the rest of the way. With SVC leading 80-36 with just 2:33 left, the Bearcats closed with the game's final nine points, including a field goal each from Lucy Bujdos, Katie Cramer, Christina Davis and Carlee Kilgus.

Morgan sparked the early three-point onslaught, finishing with a game-high 17 points, including 5-of-8 made treys in the contest. Benvenuti added 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals in just 20 minutes of action. Slovenec finished in double figures as well, tallying 10 points. Jenna Lafko collected six points, eight rebounds and five rebounds. Sanmartin pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds for SVC. 

All 14 Bearcats dressed for the contest recorded points. Saint Vincent converted 50.7 percent of its field goal attempts, while limiting the visiting GT's to just 25.5 percent from the field. Saint Vincent made 12-of-25 three-pointers while Geneva converted just 1-of-16 from behind the arc. The Bearcats out-rebounded The GT's 48-35. Saint Vincent also forced Geneva to commit 22 turnovers in the game. 

The win moves SVC to 9-3 in PAC play and 12-7 overall. Meanwhile, Geneva drops to 2-10 in league games and 5-14 overall. 

Saint Vincent carries a three-game winning streak on the road to Waynesburg University on Wednesday, Jan. 31. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.