LATROBE, Pa. (Dec. 1) - The Saint Vincent women's basketball team suffered its first loss in PAC play against the undefeated Chatham Cougars, 56-40.
 
The Bearcats fall to 2-4 on the season, 1-1 in conference play, while Chatham remains a perfect 7-0 overall and 2-0 in the PAC. 
 
Ella Marconi led the SVC scorers in double figures with 10 points, while Alana Winkler added 8 and Autumn Fennell came off the bench to score 7. Marconi also grabbed 10 rebounds to record a double-double.

Saint Vincent got off to a strong start and opened up a 13-8 lead at the close of the first quarter, led by 5 points from Fennell. The Cougars repaid the favor in the second stanza, outscoring SVC 12-0 over the first five minutes of the quarter to take a 20-13 lead. Baskets by Alana Winkler on back-to-back possessions pulled the Bearcats to within four, 23-19, with just under two minutes left, but the Cougars scored the final four points of the half to take a 27-19 lead into the locker room.

The Cougars continued to increase their lead over the third quarter, out-scoring SVC 25-9 to take a 52-28 lead into the final stanza. The deficit was too much to overcome for the hosts, who suffered their first regular-season home PAC loss since Jan. 30, 2019, a span of 21 conference games. 

The Bearcats ended the game with a 46-42 edge in rebounding, with rookie Alyssa Morgan gabbing 7 boards and Winkler and Kassidy Smith 6 apiece, but SVC committed 22 turnovers and were held to just 26 percent from the floor, including a 3-for-15 mark from behind the arc. 
 
Julianna Skowron led the Cougar offense scoring a game-high 11 points, while teammate Emily Durkee had a 10-point performance. Maddy Grennes grabbed 11 rebounds. 
 
Saint Vincent faces Washington & Jefferson in a PAC matchup in the Robert S. Carey Student Center on Saturday, Dec. 4. Tip-off is slated for 1:00 p.m.