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The Saint Vincent women's basketball team battled to a one-point loss, 59-58 to Washington & Jefferson, in a matchup of the top two teams in the Presidents' Athletic Conference standings.
 
With the loss, Saint Vincent is now 14-3 overall, 8-1 in the PAC.  W&J (12-5 overall) is also 8-1 in the conference.
 
Paige Montrose got the scoring started for the Bearcats, and an Erin Giancola putback at the 7:49 mark gave the hosts a quick 4-0 lead.   A 17-foot jumper by Montrose later in the quarter made it a 10-6 game in favor of Saint Vincent, but the Presidents closed the gap to two points, 11-9, with just over a minute remaining.

The Bearcats ended the first quarter on a high note with a score from Montrose, then opened the second with threes from Stephanie Vaughn and Carlee Kilgus, making the score 19-9.  
 The run continued with a steal and fastbreak layup by Bri Van Volkenburg at the 8:22 mark, resulting in a timeout by the Presidents.  

After a basket on the next possession ended the run, Vaughn scored again, making it a 23-11 game.
 
After the visitors closed the gap to six, a three by Jenna Lafko near the three-minute mark of the second quarter put SVC in front, 28-19.  However, the Presidents then scored the game's next nine points, tying the score at 28-28 on a three by Danielle Parker with just under a minute to play.  It proved to be the final score of the first half, as the teams went into the break even.

Slovenec got SVC on the board 30 seconds into the third quarter, making the score 30-28, but the Presidents took their first lead of the game a minute later, 31-30. 

After the visitors took a 36-32 lead, four straight points by Montrose tied the game at 36-all at the midway point of the quarter.  Two more long range shots by Parker gave W&J a 42-38 lead with 2:30 remaining in the period, and they held the lead through the end of the third quarter, 45-41.
 
Five points by Taylor Boring early in the fourth gave SVC a 46-45 advantage.  Later, a three and a pair of free throws by Lafko stretched the Bearcat lead to four, 53-49.  After a W&J score, Lafko added a free throw to return the lead to four points with 4:06 remaining.
 
However, it was yet another three from Parker that completed a 5-point run by the visitors to give them a 56-55 edge at the 2:10 mark.
 
A pair of free throws made it 58-55, but Maria Morgan hit a three to tie the game with 1:22 remaining, but a Saint Vincent foul led to the Presidents hitting one of two shots at the free throw line to take the lead.  
 
After SVC turned the ball over on the next possession, the W&J missed a shot that was rebounded by the hosts, and SVC managed to draw a foul with 12 seconds remaining.  The Bearcats were unable to hit the shots, and fell to the Presidents by a point.
 
Lafko led Saint Vincent with 12 points on the night, while Montrose added 11.  Slovenec scored 8, while Boring tallied 7.  Kilgus grabbed 11 rebounds, a career high.
 
For W&J, Parker had a game high 21 points.

Saint Vincent returns to action on Wednesday night (January 23) in the Carey Center, hosting Grove City at 5:30PM.