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Thanks to a strong showing by the defense that resulted in 25 Geneva turnovers, the Bearcat women's basketball team cruised to a 70-49 win over Geneva in a Presidents' Athletic Conference game.

The Bearcats are now 7-0 in the  PAC, 13-2 overall.
 
Saint Vincent scored the game's first seven points, as Paige Montrose hit a layup to start, followed by a Maria Morgan three and a pair of free throws by Jenna Lafko.  
 
The Goldent Tornadoes then started to hit their shots, cutting the gap to just two, 11-9, at the 1:50 mark off a three by Emily Melnek.  Stephanie Vaughn closed the scoring in the first quarter, as SVC led 13-9 after 10 minutes of play. 
 
Early in the second, a steal and fast break layup by Montrose put SVC in front 15-11, but a quick three by the visitors made it a one-point game.  
 
Turnovers by Geneva led to two scores by Bri Van Volkenburg that increased the lead to 19-14 with 5:54 remaining.  Just over a minute later, another turnover led to a score by Slovenec off an assist by Lafko, then yet another miscue resulted a Carlee Kilgus score.  Once again, the SVC defense caused a turnover on the next possession, and Montrose came up with the steal and fastbreak score, making it a 12-0 run and a 27-14 game.
 
After a Geneva timeout, Lafko extended the run to 14 before Geneva got back on the board with 2:59 left in the second quarter.
 
Kilgus answered with five straight points on a baseline jumper and a three, putting SVC ahead 34-16. Callie Tipton ended the half with six straight points for Geneva, as Saint Vincent took a 34-22 lead into the break.

Saint Vincent caused 17 Geneva turnovers in the first half, while turning the ball over only twice.
 
The lead bounced back and forth between 10-12 points throughout the first five minutes of the third quarter, before Ford hit a high-arcing three to make it a 38-31 game with 4:50 remaining.
 
A layup by Morgan and a driving score by Van Volkenburg quickly returned the lead to 11, then a steal resulted in a score by Kilgus to make it 44-31.
 
Kilgus and Van Volkenburg each added another score late in the quarter, helping the Bearcats build a 49-33 lead after three quarters. 
 
Slovenec hit back-to-back threes just before the midway point of the fourth, pushing the lead to 22 (59-37).  She then hit another three later in the quarter, part of her team-high 17 points, as the Bearcats went on to win by 21.
 
Kilgus added 15 points and 5 steals, tying her career high in points.  Van Volkenburg had 11 points and 5 rebounds, while Montrose finished with 8 points and a team-best 9 rebounds.

Callie Ford of Geneva (0-7 PAC) led all scorers in the game with 20 points.  
 
The Bearcats will be back in action on Wednesday, January 16, traveling to Pittsburgh to face Chatham University at 6PM.