BETHANY, W.Va. (Jan. 24) – Host Bethany used a big second half to pull away for a 68-54 win over Saint Vincent in a Presidents' Athletic Conference matchup.
Taylor Geer scored a team-best 13 points for SVC, while Ella Marconi scored nine points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds, but the Bearcats were hamstrung by committing 25 turnovers and connecting on just two three-point field goals, compared to nine by the Bison.
The Bearcats jumped out to a 7-3 lead over the opening three minutes of play, with Geer and Marconi scoring from the inside and Emily Cavacini connecting on a three-pointer. The Bison scored the next five points to gain an 8-7 lead with 4:27 left, before Lizzie Bender and Alana Winkler scored on layups to push SVC back in front, 11-8. Bethany would end the quarter with the momentum, however, scoring five points over the final 90 seconds to take a 15-13 lead into the second quarter.
Anna Betz tied the game with a pair of free throws in the opening 10 seconds of the second quarter to tie the game at 15, and the back-and-forth theme would continue throughout the period. The Bison countered with a three-pointer to go up 18-15, before Geer scored five points in a 40-second span to push SVC back in front, 20-18, with 7:28 left in the half. The final six minutes of the half saw the teams share four ties and four lead changes, before the Bison took a 28-27 lead into the intermission.
A Cavacini jumper on the opening possession of the second half gave SVC a one-point lead, before the Bison erupted for a 13-3 run over the next four minutes to take their largest lead of the night, 41-31, at the midpoint of the third quarter. Autumn Fennell halted the Bison run with a jumper with 4:40 left, before Bender converted on a traditional three-point play with 2:09 left to pull SVC to within 41-36. Thirty second later, a jumper from Madison Weber made it a three-point game, but the Bison scored five points over the final minute of the quarter to up their lead to 46-38.
Bethany kept the momentum to open the fourth, using an 11-4 run to open up a 57-42 lead with 7:06 to go in regulation. A pair of free throws from Geer followed by one freebie by Marconi closed the gap to 11 points with 5:35 left, but the Bison slowly pulled away down the stretch to close out the 14-point win.
The Bearcats out-rebounded the Bison 44-34 and limited them to just 33 percent from the field (20-for-59), but Bethany connected on 19 free throws and nine three-pointers, compared to SVC's 12-for-19 mark from the line and 2-for-10 showing from behind the arc.
Bender added nine points for the Bearcats, while Geer narrowly missed a double-double with nine boards to go with her 13 points. Marconi led both sides with three blocked shots.
Bethany's Lindsay Garrison led all scorers with 25 points, fueled by six three-pointers, while teammate Ashleigh Wheeler scored 13.
The Bearcats (3-9, 2-6 PAC) will return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 26, traveling to Waynesburg University for a 5:30 p.m. PAC bout.
