PHOTO GALLERY

The Saint Vincent Bearcats women's basketball team defeated visiting Bethany College in a Presidents' Athletic Conference game by a score of 60-50 in the Carey Center.

Saint Vincent is now 11-2 overall, 5-0 in the PAC.
 
The Bearcats got off to a strong start, opening an 8-0 lead, led by four points from Kayla Slovenec. Solid defense by Saint Vincent helped keep the visitors off the board until the 4:48 mark, when they hit a field goal to make it 8-2.
 
Later in the quarter, a three by Carlee Kilgus put SVC in front by a 13-5 margin.  However, the Bison shot the ball well in the closing minutes of the quarter, ending the period with a 9-2 run, with SVC in front by just a point, 15-14, at the end of the quarter.
 
The Bison continued to play well in the opening minutes of the second quarter, scoring five straight point to open play, taking a 19-15 lead near the 6-minute mark.
 
Saint Vincent later tied the game, 22-22, on a jumper by Madison Kollar, and retook the lead at the 2:11 mark (27-26) on a three by Slovenec. 
 
After Bethany took a brief one point lead, 28-27, the Bearcats closed the half with four points, on a runner by Slovenec and a pair of Kollar free throws, taking a 31-28 lead into the locker room.
 
It took over a minute and a half for the first score of the third quarter.  Paige Montrose came up with a steal, then passed to Maria Morgan who hit a 16-foot jumper to give SVC a 5-point edge.  Jenna Lafko followed with a driving layup, drawing a foul, at the 7:11 mark.  The ensuing free throw made the score 36-28.
 
The lead grew to ten after a second chance layup by Kilgus with 5:12 left.  

The visitors battled back, cutting the gap to just three, 40-37, after a conventional three point play by Sammie Weiss at the 1:28 mark, but Taylor Boring answered quickly with a three, returning the lead to six points, and SVC finished the third quarter with a 44-37 advantage.
 
Five points early in the fourth by Bethany's Janaya Hazlip helped to offset four points by SVC's Bri Van Volkenburg, but the Bison managed to once again make it a four-point game, 48-44, with 7 minutes left in the fourth.  
 
Later, a rebound and putback by Hazlip at the 4:22 mark made the score 50-48, but Maria Morgan answered with a three, and the Bison were never able to counter.   
 
Much of the remainder of the game was spent at the foul line, and SVC pulled away to a 60-50 victory. 
 
Kollar and Slovenec paced the Bearcats with 12 points each, while Jenna Lakfo added 11 points and a team-high 6 rebounds.  Slovenec grabbed 5 boards, while Montrose had 5 steals.
 
Bethany (8-6 overall, 3-2 PAC) was led by Sammie Weiss with 14 points.
 
Saint Vincent will return to action on Wednesday evening (January 9) on the road at Waynesburg at 5:30PM.