NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. (Jan. 21) – Led by a career-high 21 points from sophomore Emily Thompson, the Saint Vincent women's basketball team extended its winning streak to nine games with a 63-48 road victory over Presidents' Athletic Conference foe Westminster.
 
The win snapped a three-game losing skid for the Bearcats against the Titans, while it lifted SVC's record to 13-3 overall and 11-2 in the PAC. Westminster fell to 11-7 overall and 7-6 in league plan.
 
Thompson connected on 9-of-15 shots from the field, including a 3-for-6 showing from behind the arc, to notch the first 20-point game of her SVC career. She was one of four Bearcats to score at least eight points, as Madison Weber totaled nine and Kayla Sharman and Ella Marconi eight apiece.
 
Weber also grabbed nine rebounds and Marconi eight, as the Bearcats ended the day with an impressive 43-32 margin on the glass.
 
Thompson scored on the game's first possession nine seconds into play, and SVC would hold the lead the rest of the way. She would tally 10 points by the midpoint of the opening quarter, with her second trey of the afternoon pushing SVC's lead to 14-6 with just under five minutes left. The Bearcat advantage would eventually swell to 19-8 at the close of the opening frame, with Sharman netting five points over the quarter's final 90 seconds.
 
SVC's lead eventually grew to 13, 23-10, just over a minute into the second quarter, but the Titans closely chipped away, ending the half on a 19-6 run to send the game into the intermission with SVC holding a 29-20 lead.
 
After the two teams traded baskets over the first two minutes of the second half, SVC pulled away for good, embarking on a 16-2 run over a four-minute span, which included three-pointers from Thompson and Cavacini, to open up a 50-27 lead with 2:20 left in the quarter. The margin continued to grow, with two points from Weber and a three-pointer from Anna Betz over the quarter's final 90 seconds sending SVC into the fourth quarter with a 55-28 advantage.
 
SVC's largest lead of the day came in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, when Sharman's second trey pushed the Bearcats out to a 30-point margin, 58-28. The Titans would outscore the Bearcats down the stretch, but the damage had already been done.
 
The Bearcats shot 41 percent (25-62) from the field, 39 percent (7-for-18) from behind the arc and 87 percent (6-for-7) from the foul line. Conversely, the Titans shot 29 percent (17-for-57) from the field and just 61 percent (13-for-21) from the line.
 
Natalie Murrio led Westminster with 16 points, while teammate Lindsay Bell finished with eight points and eight rebounds.
 
The Bearcats wil return to action this Wednesday, Jan. 25, traveling to Waynesburg University for a 6 p.m. PAC battle.