LATROBE, Pa (Nov. 8)- The Saint Vincent women's basketball team opened their season up on Tuesday night, defeating Juniata by a score of 76-58 in the Carey Center.
 
Emily Cavacini led the way for the Bearcats with 15 points, going 3-3 from behind the arc and 6-8 overall from the field. Cavacini also added three steals in the win. Madison Weber also had a big night for SVC, scoring 12 points while grabbing seven rebounds and picking up three assists.

Coming off of the bench, Lizzie Bender scored 12 points and tallied five rebounds. Alana Winkler added nine points and eight rebounds and Ella Marconi scored eight points with five rebounds.
 
It was a high scoring effort for the Bearcats in their first quarter of the season, as SVC outscored the Eagles 29-17. It was tight early on as Juniata and the Bearcats both held slight leads, but neither could pull away, as the Bearcats led 13-12 after a couple of free throws from Bender with 5:46 remaining in the quarter. Saint Vincent continued on the attack closing out the quarter on a 16-5 run over the remaining five minutes of the quarter, as SVC took the 12-point lead into the second quarter.
 
It was much tighter in the second quarter. Saint Vincent outscored the Eagles by a slight 16-14 margin in the entirety of the quarter. Halfway into the second quarter, the Bearcats had grown their lead to 19, which was their second largest lead of the game at 38-19. After a three pointer and layup the Eagles scored five quick points to cut into the lead at 38-24 with four minutes to go in the half. Saint Vincent and Juniata played even basketball in the remaining four minutes of the half, as the Bearcats held steady with a 14-point lead at 45-31 at the halftime break.
 
Just as it was in the second quarter, it was tight in the third quarter as well. Juniata slightly edged SVC 13-11 in the quarter. Juniata had cut the Saint Vincent lead to 10 in the middle of the quarter, but the Bearcats quickly increased that lead back up to 15, just a couple of minutes later. The teams traded baskets in the end of the half, as the Eagles cut the SVC lead to 12 at 56-44 heading into the fourth and final quarter.
 
The Bearcats put the game on ice in the fourth quarter. SVC held leads of 19 and 21 in the quarter and emptied the bench in the remaining portions of the game. The Bearcats won the quarter by a 20-14 margin, coming away with the season-opening win.
 
As a team, SVC shot 44.6 percent (25-56) from the field, going 38.5 percent (5-13) from beyond the three-point line. The Bearcats were strong from the foul line as well, missing just five free throws in the entirety of the game, shooting 21-26 (80.8 percent). The Saint Vincent defense was strong as well, scoring 19 points off of turnovers.
 
Saint Vincent returns to action on Friday, November 11, playing host to nationally ranked Marietta. Tip off is scheduled for 6 p.m. in the Robert S. Carey Center.