The Saint Vincent College women's basketball team finished the season undefeated after an overtime thriller on the road in a Presidents' Athletic Conference matchup against Grove City College, 78-74
After a nail biting first quarter where the Bearcats led 15-13, Saint Vincent (7-0, 7-0) came out on fire into the second with a five-point lead thanks to a three pointer from
Taylor Geer. The Wolverines (7-1, 7-1) cut the Saint Vincent lead to as little as one with a three pointer from Jess Bowen. The Bearcats led Grove City 31-26 heading into the half.
Jenna Lafko tallied nine points for SVC and Geer added seven, grabbing six rebounds.
To start the third quarter, Lafko gave the Bearcats a seven-point lead on a layup. Grove City and Saint Vincent went back and forth, but it was not enough to stop SVC as they held onto a four-point (52-48) lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Madison Weber gave the Bearcats the seven-point edge to start the fourth quarter after sinking a three pointer. At the six-minute mark, Grove City tallied a layup in the paint and trailed Saint Vincent by two. A foul by Kat Goetz sent the Bearcats to the free throw line with 2:28 remaining in the contest. Weber then sank a free throw for Saint Vincent, giving it a two-point lead, 61-59.
A fast break three-pointer by Emma Vezzosi kept Grove City in the game, trailing by one with 1:30 left in the fourth quarter. A Bearcat turnover with less than a minute to play gave Grove City the opportunity to take the lead over Saint Vincent.
Carlee Kilgus added a layup with 16 seconds left to play to send the game into overtime, 65-65.
To start the overtime period, two quick layups from
Ella Marconi gave the Bearcats the four-point edge with just a minute of overtime expired (69-65). A Grove City layup dwindled the Saint Vincent lead to just two with under three minutes to play. Saint Vincent struggled and a missed layup and rebound from Grove City kept the game tight (70-69). The Bearcats went on a 5-0 run in the last few minutes of overtime.
Grove City tallied a three pointer and trailed SVC by two, 75-73 with 0:18 to play. A free-throw from Kilgus gave the Bearcats a three point lead. With 00:11 seconds left in the extra period, SVC fouled and gave Grove City a chance to tie the game at 76. Bowen added a free throw for the Wolverines but missed the next two, with the Bearcats getting the rebound. Two free throws within 10 seconds from Marconi gave Saint Vincent the 78-74 victory over Grove City.
Kilgus finished the day with a game-high 17 points adding in five assists, five rebounds and two steals. Lafko scored 16 and tallied five steals. Two Bearcats recorded a double-double as Marconi finished 15 points, 14 rebounds and tied a program record with nine blocks. Weber tallied the other double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Wolverines were led by Bowen and Vezzosi who each finished with 17 points.
With the win, Saint Vincent claims the top-seed the in PAC Playoffs and will host a Quarterfinal game on Monday, March 15. Opponent and time is to be determined.