PHOTO GALLERY
The Saint Vincent women's basketball team returned to its winning ways with a 54-47 victory over visiting Grove City College in Presidents' Athletic Conference play in Latrobe.
The Bearcats took their first lead of the game at the 7-minute mark of the first quarter, when
Kayla Slovenec hit a three from the corner to make the score 5-2.
Paige Montrose followed with a block and rebound, then dished to
Maria Morgan who scored on a fast break layup to give SVC a 7-2 lead.
The Wolverines came back and took a 10-9 lead with just under three minutes remaining, but
Taylor Boring put SVC back in front on the next trip down court.
The teams traded the lead throughout much of the rest of the first quarter, with the visitors holding a 16-15 advantage after the first 10 minutes of play, despite 4 points late in the quarter from SVC's
Madison Kollar.
Grove City's Sedona Campbell scored four quick points to open the second quarter, extending the Wolverine's lead to 20-15. The lead grew to eight, 25-17, after a three by Jess Bowen with 7:45 to go.
The scoring tempo slowed over the next few minutes, but the visitors managed to increase the lead to ten, 30-20, near the 3-minute mark on a jumper by Allison Podkul.
Later in the quarter, two free throws by Kollar and a three by Morgan cut the lead in half, 32-27. A runner in the lane by
Bri Van Volkenburg cut the gap to just three in the final minute, and the teams went into the break with Grove City in front, 32-29.
Grove City hit a three to start the third quarter, but SVC quickly returned the difference to just three, where it remained for most of the quarter. with 2:56 to go, a steal by Van Volkenburg led to a layup by Kollar that made the score 36-35 in favor of Grove City, and a
Taylor Geer score with under a minute to go in the third tied the game, 39-39. Grove City scored with less than 10 seconds on the clock, but Geer drew a foul with .1 seconds remaining, and hit both shots, tying the game at 41-all at the end of the third.
A pull up jumper by
Taylor Boring with 7:10 remaining gave SVC a one-point edge, 43-42, and a putback by
Erin Giancola less than two minutes later gave Saint Vincent is 46-42 lead.
A layup by Kollar with 1:20 remaining put SVC in front, 49-44, but Grove City answered with a three at the one minute mark to make it a 2-point game. Once again, SVC responded, as Slovenec drove into the lane for a layup to make the score 51-47.
The Wolverines had a couple of late opportunities, but missed three-pointers on two straight offensive possessions, with Montrose and Van Volkenburg coming up with key defensive rebounds to preserve the win.
Kollar and Slovenec each scored 13 points for Saint Vincent (15-3, 9-1 PAC). Kollar added five rebounds. Montrose had a strong defensive game, with 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks.
Grove City (11-8 overall, 6-4 PAC) was led by Jess Bowen's 12 points.
Saint Vincent returns to action on the road on Saturday (January 26) with a 1PM matchup at Thiel College.
