WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Jan. 26) – The Saint Vincent women's basketball team was unable to complete a second-half comeback, falling 60-59 in the final seconds at Presidents' Athletic Conference foe Waynesburg.
Trailing by 17 points midway through the first half, the Bearcats would take a three-point lead in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. However, SVC was held to just one basket over the final three minutes of regulation, while Waynesburg scored the eventual game-winner with 20 seconds remaining.
The Bearcats were led in scoring by
Emily Cavacini with 17 points, while classmate
Lizzie Bender tallied 10 and
Taylor Geer 8.
Ella Marconi grabbed a team-high 11 boards for SVC.
The Bearcats got off to a strong start to open up a 4-2 lead in the first two minutes of the opening quarter, before the Yellow Jackets out-scored their visitors 17-7 over the final seven minutes to take a 19-11 lead into the second frame.
Waynesburg's lead would eventually stretch to 30-13 with 5:58 remaining in the half, but the Bearcats began to chip away. Four points from Geer, sandwiched around an
Anna Betz layup, closed the gap to 30-19 with three minutes left, before another Geer layup with less than 10 seconds left capped off the 13-2 run and trimmed the Bearcat deficit to 23-26 at the intermission.
Over the opening 20 minutes, the Bearcats shot just 33.3 percent from the field (11-for-33), compared to a 44.1 percent mark by Waynesburg (15-for-34). The two teams also combined for 15 first-half turnovers.
Saint Vincent kept the momentum to start the third quarter, rattling off an 8-2 run after four quick points by Cavacini, to pull to within 32-30 with just over eight minutes to go in the frame. The Yellow Jackets scored four straight to open up a six-point lead, but SVC came right back to score seven straight points, with
Emily Thompson's layup with 4:18 left giving her team its first lead of the night, 39-38. The Jackets then countered to outscore the Bearcats 9-6 over the final minutes of the quarter to take a 48-45 lead into the fourth.
The Bearcats outscored the Yellow Jackets 9-6 over the first three minutes of the final frame, with baskets from Bender, Cavacini and
Lauren Gamble. Waynesburg would tie the game at 56 with 6:30 left in regulation. After a pair of free throws from Cavacini and one from
Alana Winkler, the Bearcats took a 59-56 lead with 4:53 left in regulation.
Neither team would find the basket over the next 3:30, before Waynesburg cut it to 59-58 on a jumper by Anika Dansby. After forcing a Bearcat turnover on the ensuing trip, the Yellow Jackets took the 60-59 lead on a foul line jumper from Brooke Fuller with just over 20 seconds left. The Bearcats had a pair of shots over the final 10 seconds, but were unable to find the mark and were dealt the one-point loss.
For the game, Saint Vincent was held to just 35.9 percent from the floor (23-for-64), including a 1-for-7 mark from behind the arc. Waynesburg shot 33.8 percent from the field, as they held a 48-43 edge in rebounding. The turnovers were nearly even, with SVC committing 14 miscues and Waynesburg 12.
Three Yellow Jackets scored in double-figures. Avery Robinson and Madisen Dayton each tallied 16 while Fuller chipped in 14.
Saint Vincent travels to Washington, Pa. for a PAC matchup against Washington & Jefferson on Saturday, January 29. Tip-off is slated for 1:00 p.m. Spectators will be required to wear masks.
