LATROBE, Pa. (Jan. 28) – The Saint Vincent women's basketball team extended its winning streak to 11 games with a 57-53 Senior Day victory over Washington & Jefferson, ranked 23rd in the most recent D3Hoops.com national poll, in front of a raucous crowd in the Robert S. Carey Student Center.
Saint Vincent's (15-3, 13-2 PAC) victory snapped a 16-game Washington & Jefferson (17-2, 13-1) winning streak and marked W&J's first Presidents' Athletic Conference defeat of the season.
Emily Cavacini scored a game-high 21 points, fueled by a 4-for-8 mark from behind the arc, while reigning PAC Player of the Week Madison Weber celebrated her Senior Day in fine fashion by posting a 19-point, 11-rebound double-double.
In a battle of the PAC's top two defenses, both teams shot just 35 percent from the field, with SVC going 18-for-52 and W&J 18-for-51. The Presidents made six three-pointers to the Bearcats' four - all from Cavacini - but the Bearcats went 17-for-27 from the foul line, compared to their opponents' 11-for-23 performance.
Saint Vincent also had a strong afternoon on the glass, out-rebounding W&J 45-35. Weber was one of five Bearcat players to record at least five rebounds, as Cavacini, Ella Marconi, Alana Winkler and Lizzie Bender all grabbed five caroms.
Along with her five boards, Bender came off the bench to score eight points, going 3-for-4 from the field and 2-for-2 from the foul line, while Winkler chipped in four blocks, two steals and two assists.
Cavacini scored five points on a pair of jumpers in the first minute of play, but W&J would respond by outscoring the Bearcats 13-4 over the final seven minutes of the quarter to take a 5-point lead after 10 minutes of play. In the defensively themed first quarter, the Bearcats shot just 20 percent (3-for-15) from the field, while the Presidents went 5-for-12.
W&J's lead would increase to 15-9 in the opening stages of the second quarter, but the Bearcats would regroup. Cavacini hit three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to close the gap to 18-16 with 3:58 left in the half, before a jumper from Bender 30 seconds later tied the game at 18-all. The Presidents answered by soring the final four points of the frame to take a 22-18 lead into the intermission.
A W&J three-pointer on its opening possession of the second half gave them their largest lead of the day, 25-18, before SVC again quickly charged back. Weber converted on a conventional three-point play to pull to within four, before Winkler took a steal coast-to-coast for a layup to make it a 25-23 game with 8:25 to go in the quarter, and SVC continued to roll. Marconi tied it with a mid-range jumper with 8:12 remaining, before SVC took the lead for the first time since the opening stages of the game when Weber made good on another three-point play to make it 28-26 with 6:31 left in the quarter.
Saint Vincent's lead would eventually grow to four, 33-29, on Cavacini's third trey of the afternoon, but the back-and-forth theme continued, as the Presidents answered with an 8-4 run to regain a 38-37 lead with just over 90 seconds left in the frame. After making the front end of two free throw attempts with 1:17 left, Weber scored on a driving layup off of a Winkler feed on SVC's final possession of the frame to take a 40-38 lead into the game's final 10 minutes, and the Bearcats would remain in front the rest of the way.
Weber stayed hot to open the fourth, cashing in on yet another three-point play on SVC's first trip to open up a 43-38 advantage. After the Presidents answered with four straight points to make it a one-point game with just over seven minutes to play, Weber scored on a driving layup with 6:55 to go to increase the lead to three and the Presidents would get no closer. A Winkler free throw sandwiched between two Bender layups pushed the Bearcat lead back to five, 50-45, with 1:25 left, before Cavacini iced the game by going 7-for-8 from the foul line over the final 45 seconds to seal the win.
Over the game's final 20 minutes, SVC outscored W&J 39-31 and shot 46 percent (12-for-26) from the field, compared to W&J's 34 percent (10-for-29).
W&J was led on the scoresheet by Stellanie Loutsion, who came off the bench to score 19 points, while Victoria Koeck added nine points and seven rebounds.
Prior to the game, the SVC senior class of Marconi, Weber and Anna Betz, along with student manager Nate Arendas, were recognized for their contributions to the Bearcat program.
The Bearcats will be back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 1, playing host to Chatham University at 6 p.m. in the Robert S. Carey Student Center.
