LATROBE, Pa. (Jan. 12) - In its first return to action in more than five weeks, the Saint Vincent women's basketball team struggled in a 57-32 loss to Presidents' Athletic Conference foe Westminster College in the Robert S. Carey Center. 

The Bearcats fall to 2-6 on the season, 1-3 in conference play, while Westminster moves to 7-5 overall and 4-2 in the PAC. 

Saint Vincent was led in scoring by a pair of freshmen making their season debuts, as freshman Emily Thompson topped the Bearcat scorers with 8 points, while classmate Diana Mosten chipped in 7. Ella Marconi grabbed a team-best 10 boards for SVC. 

Westminster got off to a strong start to open up an 8-4 lead with 3:36 left to play in a defensively-themed first quarter. The Bearcats added a quick four points to cut the Titans lead to just two heading into the second, with buckets from Thompson and Madison Weber trimming the gap to 10-8 to close the opening frame.  

Thompson tied the game at 10 with a layup in the opening minute of the second quarter, and after four straight Westminster points, a Mosten three-ball pulled SVC to within one, 14-13, with 4:03 left until the intermission. The Titans would respond to take an 18-13 lead with inside three minutes left in the quarter, before Emily Cavacini's layup with 15 seconds left in the quarter brought SVC to within 18-16, which would be the halftime score.

Over the first half, the Bearcats shot just 26 percent from the field at 7-for-27, while the Titans managed only a 21.6 percent mark, making 8 of 37 attempts.  The two teams also combined for 18 first half turnovers.

Westminster warmed up over the decisive third quarter, while the Bearcats remained cold, as the Titans outscored SVC 26-7 to take 42-23 lead into the final stanza. The Titans would own the better of the play in the fourth quarter, as well, as the Bearcats were unable to overcome the deficit and fell in their first game action in 39 days by the 57-32 score. 

SVC committed 16 turnovers to Westminster's 13 and were held to just 32.8 percent from the floor, including a 4-for-8 mark from behind the arc. The Titans were also strong on the glass, holding a 56-38 edge in rebounding. 

Lindsay Bell led the Titan offense scoring a game-high double-double 17 points and 14 rebounds while teammate Natalie Murrio recorded a double-double performance of her own, scoring 14 from the floor and grabbing 11 boards.
 
Saint Vincent faces Thiel in a PAC matchup in the Robert S. Carey Student Center on Saturday, January 15. Tip-off is slated for 1:00 p.m. No spectators will be allowed, but live video and audio streams, as well as live stats, will be available at http://athletics.stvincent.edu/coverage.