LATROBE, Pa. (Nov. 15) – In a rematch of the 2023 Presidents' Athletic Conference championship game, Saint Vincent used a stifling defense and a balanced scoring attack to defeat Chatham, 55-36, in the Robert S. Carey Student Center.
 
The Bearcats (2-2, 1-0 PAC) limited the Cougars (1-2, 0-1) to just 17 percent from the field (12-68) and owned a hearty 59-30 advantage on the glass, while holding the visitors to just 20 points over the final three quarters.
 
Emily Cavacini recorded a 10-point, 14-rebound double-double, while narrowly missing the triple-double with seven assists. Emily Thompson scored a team-high 12 points, while Lizzie Bender scored 10. Madison Weber tied Cavacini for game-high honors with 14 rebounds, while adding eight points.
 
In the opening quarter, the Bearcats got off to a hot start, opening up a 9-3 lead and forcing a Chatham timeout just three minutes into play. SVC hit four of their first five shots over the span, with Bender sinking a pair of buckets, while the hosts limited Chatham to just one field goal on its first six attempts. The tide would quickly turn, however, as the Cougars answered back with a 10-2 run over the next four minutes – using a trio of three-pointers - to take their first lead, 13-11, with 3:04 left in the quarter.  
 
With just over a minute left, Alana Winkler split a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 13-12, but another Chatham three with 22 seconds left would close out the quarter's scoring and give Chatham a 16-12 lead. Both teams struggled from the field in the first 10 minutes, with SVC shooting 29 percent (4-14) and Chatham 26 percent (5-19), but all five of the Cougars' baskets came from outside the arc.
 
Makenna Maier sunk a long three on the opening trip of the second quarter to pull the Bearcats to within one, 16-15, and after Bender scored her third bucket of the day, Maier struck again from downtown to give the lead back to the Bearcats, 20-19, with 6:40 left in the half. Weber and Bender scored on back-to-back possessions to open up a 4-point lead, 24-20, with 2:49 left. The teams would then trade a number of scoreless trips before Weber's offensive putback with less than three seconds left gave the Bearcats a 26-22 lead at the break.
 
Over the first half, Saint Vincent's defense limited Chatham to just 18 percent (6-for-32) from the field, with five of the buckets coming from behind the arc. Fueled by Weber's 10 first half rebounds, SVC also had a commanding 30-16 advantage on the glass at the break.
 
Defense continued to be the theme throughout the opening stages of the third quarter, as the squads combined for just three field goals in the first six minutes, with Cavacini's three-pointer upping the SVC lead to 32-25 with 4:20 to go. Two Camdon Bashor free throws and a foul line jumper by Thompson with 1:44 remaining pushed the SVC lead to 36-27 with 1:33 remaining, and then Thompson ended the quarter with a flourish, beating the buzzer with a baseline jumper to send SVC into the fourth quarter with a 38-29 lead.
 
The junior remained hot sinking a corner three on the first possession of the fourth quarter to give the Bearcats a double-digit lead, 41-29, and 30 seconds later, Cavacini's trey from the right wing increased the advantage to 15 points. The lead continued to grow down the stretch. With 4:30 to go, two Winkler free throws made it 48-33, before Cavacini put an exclamation point on the win after picking off a pass at midcourt and going the distance for the fast-break layup to make it a 20-point spread, 53-33 and put the game away.

Chatham was led offensively by Ashlie Louden, who scored 11 points, and Charjae Brock added 10.
 
The Bearcats will welcome another perennial rival to the Carey Center on Saturday, Nov. 18, taking on Westminster College at 4 p.m.