ANNVILLE, Pa. (Nov. 12)- The Saint Vincent women's basketball team concluded the Lebanon Valley tournament with a 68-63 defeat by the host Dutchman.
 
The Bearcats trailed by 12 at the half, before storming back in the third quarter, outscoring Lebanon Valley 20-9 in the quarter to cut the lead to one heading into the fourth quarter. The Dutchman ended SVC's comeback effort, outscoring Saint Vincent 18-14 in the final quarter.
 
Three Bearcats scored in double figures, with Emily Cavacini leading the way with a team-high 18 points. Cavacini also grabbed three rebounds and had two steals.
 
Emily Thompson and Lizzie Bender were the other two Bearcats in double figures, both scoring ten points for SVC. Thompson and Bender both grabbed two rebounds each as well.
 
Madison Weber was strong for Saint Vincent as well, scoring eight points, while grabbing a team-high 12 rebounds. Makenna Maier followed up her career day against PSU-Schuylkill with a seven-point, six rebound performance against Lebanon Valley.
 
Reese Gadsby added five points for the Bearcats and Camdon Bashor scored three as well. Alana Winkler rounded out the Bearcats scoring with two points, while also grabbing five rebounds and dishing out two assists.
 
The first several minutes of the first quarter were evenly contested with the Dutchman holding a slight one-point lead at 12-11 after a two-point jumper by Cavacini. Lebanon Valley took full control in the remaining three minutes, going on an 8-3 run to close out the quarter in front of Saint Vincent at 20-14.
 
It was all Dutchman early in the second quarter. Lebanon Valley had increased their lead to 21-points at 39-18 with about four and a half minutes remaining in the half. Over the remaining four minutes and change, the Bearcats played Lebanon Valley even, outscoring them slightly at 11-9, concluding the half with a jumper by Thompson, trailing 41-29.
 
Saint Vincent's comeback attempt began in the third quarter. The Bearcats stormed out of the gates going on a 20-7 run that spanned the first nine minutes of the quarter. SVC took their first lead since the first quarter at 49-48 after a pair of free throws from Cavacini.
 
The Dutchman scored the final basket of the quarter on a layup with 11 seconds left to take a 50-49 lead into the final quarter.
 
Similar to the Bearcats in the third quarter, the Dutchman opened the final quarter with a big run. Lebanon Valley opened the quarter with a quick 8-0 run to increase their lead right back to nine points at 58-49.
 
SVC had one final push in them cutting the lead back to three points at 63-60 after a layup by Weber. The Dutchman held the Bearcat offense in check the rest of the way and sealed the game at the foul line to down the Bearcats 68-63.
 
As a team, Saint Vincent shot 24-64 (37.5 percent) from the field and 5-15 (33 percent) from beyond the three-point line. SVC recorded 30 points in the paint as well and 15 points from players coming off of the bench.
 
Lebanon Valley on the other hand shot a strong 25-53 from the field (47 percent) and 7-18 from beyond the three-point line (39 percent). The Dutchman shot 11-14 from the free throw line compared to the Bearcats who shot went just 10-20 from the foul line.
 
The Bearcats will now return home and begin PAC play this week, hosting Chatham on Wednesday, November 15, in a rematch of last year's PAC Championship. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in the Robert S. Carey Center.