PITTSBURGH, Pa. (Jan. 22) - A big second half comeback attempt by the Saint Vincent women's basketball team fell short, as the Bearcats were defeated 53-45 at Presidents' Athletic Conference foe Chatham.

Trailing by 16 points at the intermission, the Bearcats (3-8, 2-5 PAC) eventually trimmed the deficit to two points early in the fourth quarter. They would get no closer, however, as Chatham (9-4, 3-3) responded with a lengthy 1--2 run to put the game away.

It was a struggle offensively in the first half for the Bearcats. The Cougars held the Bearcats to just 19.4% shooting from the field, while forcing 14 SVC turnovers, with 12 points coming off of the miscues.
 
Chatham's pressure caused fits for the Bearcat offense in the first quarter, as the Cougars started the game with an early 10-2 lead. After baskets from Alana Winkler and Emily Thompson, the Bearcats cut the Cougars lead to 10-6.
 
Chatham answered with a big run to close the first quarter and open the second, holding SVC scoreless for more than eight minutes of game time and scoring 17 unanswered points to open up a 27-6 lead midway through the second quarter.  
 
Ella Marconi ended the Bearcats scoring drought with a layup to cut the lead to 27-8, before the Bearcats outscored the Cougars 5-2 to end the quarter, with a three-pointer from Diana Mosten and a jumper from Anna Betz, to go into halftime down 29-13.

The Bearcats came out firing in the second half, opening the frame on a 12-2 run to cut the Chatham lead to 31-25 midway through the third quarter, with Taylor Geer scoring six points over the span.  The teams traded the last few points at the end of the quarter, with Chatham holding a 36-29 lead heading into the fourth.
 
Saint Vincent continued its strong second half push at the beginning of the fourth quarter, starting the frame on a 5-1 run, with two points from Bender and a long three-pointer from Betz, to close to within 36-34 just under a minute into the quarter.
 
The Cougars answered right back though, embarking on a 14-2 run to up their lead to 51-36 with 2:17 left in regulation.   

The Bearcats outscored the Cougars 9-2 over the final two minutes of play, with five points coming from Thompson, but the comeback attempt ran out of time as the Cougars claimed the 8-point victory.
Thompson led the Bearcats in scoring with nine points, while Geer added eight and Marconi six.
 
Emily Cavacini recorded four of SVC's eight steals in the game, while Bender grabbed a team-best six rebounds.
 
Saint Vincent shot 27.1 percent from the field for the game (16-for-59) and made just three of 15 attempts from behind the arc, but was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line in the loss. Saint Vincent received 20 of its 43 points from players off the bench.

Chatham shot just 34 percent from the field (19-for-55) and committed 20 turnovers, but the Cougars held a 45-37 advantage on the glass. Juliana Skowron led the Cougars with 14 points, while Maddy Grennes hauled in a team-high 16 rebounds.  
 
The Bearcats return to action on Monday, Jan. 24, when they travel to Bethany for a PAC matchup, a game that was rescheduled from Jan. 6. Tip off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.