LATROBE, Pa. (Feb. 5) – The Saint Vincent women's basketball team celebrated Senior Day in style, knocking off Grove City 71-63 in a Saturday matinee at the Robert S. Carey Student Center.
The Bearcats (6-11, 5-8 PAC) overcame a sluggish first quarter by outscoring the Wolverines (13-7, 10-4 PAC) 22-9 over the second quarter and never looked back, winning their third straight.
Ella Marconi tallied her third consecutive double-double, scoring 19 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Emily Thompson added 12 points and Emily Cavacini 10, while Madison Weber narrowly missed the double-double, finishing with eight points and 12 rebounds.
The Wolverines got off to a hot start, jumping out to a 12-4 lead midway through the first quarter. Saint Vincent chipped away at the deficit, closing to within 13-10 on a pair of Taylor Geer free throws, but Grove City answered right back with a 7-2 run to open up a 20-12 advantage. The Bearcats ended the quarter with the momentum, however, as a late basket from Marconi and a free throw from Autumn Fennell closed the gap to 22-17 after 10 minutes.
The Bearcats stayed hot to open the second quarter. Marconi hit baskets on back-to-back trips to pull to within one, before a Thompson jumper gave SVC its first lead, 23-22. Thompson would then follow up with a long three-pointer to push the Bearcats up by four, before Cavacini's layup with just over six minutes left in the quarter closed out an 11-0 run and gave the Bearcats a 28-22 lead. The teams traded baskets over the next few minutes, with Grove City twice pulling to within five, but Marconi's layup to beat the halftime buzzer would send SVC into the locker room with a 40-31 lead.
Grove City quickly cut the deficit to four, 40-36, in the opening minutes of the third quarter, but the SVC advantage would then grow to nine, 51-42, after six straight points from Lizzie Bender in a two-minute span. The Bearcats would take a 53-44 lead into the fourth quarter.
SVC's lead would grow to 13 when Cavacini's layup with 7:50 left made it 59-46, before a long three-pointer from Lauren Gamble gave Saint Vincent a 64-51 advantage with 4:50 left in regulation. The Gamble trifecta essentially sealed the win for the Bearcats, as the Wolverines were only able to cut the deficit into single digits with an 8-1 run to end the game that proved to be too little, too late.
The Bearcats shot 43 percent for the game (27-for-64) to the Wolverines' 38 percent (25-for-65), while SVC held a 39-33 advantage in rebounds.
Saint Vincent showcased a balanced offense, with nine players finding the scoresheet. Along with the four aforementioned players in double-figures, Bender finished the afternoon with eight points, and Gable seven.
Nina Cano led the Wolverines with a 22-point, 10-rebound double-double, while Allison Podkul scored 14 points and Clara Hannon 13 points with 10 rebounds.
Prior to the game, Bearcat seniors Gamble and Taylor Geer, along with team manager Abbey Larkin, were recognized during Senior Day festivities.
Saint Vincent will now look to extend its winning streak when it returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 9, with a 6 p.m. matchup at PAC rival Westminster College.
