DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Dec. 21)- The Saint Vincent women's basketball team held off a furious fourth-quarter rally by Bates to secure a 65-62 win, concluding their trip to Daytona Beach.
 
The Bearcats led for the entirety of the game, including holding an 18-point lead early in the fourth quarter, but the Bobcats outscored Saint Vincent 21-9 in the fourth quarter. The 21-9 fourth quarter wasn't enough as the Bearcats got two critical stops late in the game on the defensive end to end their three-game losing streak.
 
For the second day in a row, Emily Cavacini led the charge for the Bearcats, scoring 23 points on 8-16 shooting and 3-7 shooting from the three-point line. Madison Weber finished with a double-double for SVC as well, scoring 11 points while grabbing 13 rebounds.
 
Emily Thompson was the third Bearcat to finish in double figures, scoring ten points, while also grabbing five rebounds. Lizzie Bender added six points and Jillian Mannarino scored five critical points off the bench as well for Saint Vincent.
 
Camdon Bashor scored four and grabbed three rebounds, while Ashley Lippold and Makenna Maier rounded out the scoring with three points each. Alana Winkler was strong on the glass for the Bearcats too, grabbing seven rebounds, while also dishing out three assists.
 
The Bearcats came storming out of the gates, opening up to a quick 8-0 lead in the first minute and a half. Cavacini got it started with a jumper and Weber, Bender, and Thompson all followed with two-point baskets as well to open the game.
 
Bates scored a couple baskets, but the Saint Vincent momentum continued as the Bearcats opened their lead up to 11 at 19-8 after two successful free throws from Weber.
 
Bates cut the lead to seven at 19-12, but the Bearcats answered, closing the quarter with a three-pointer from Maier and a layup from Weber to take a 24-12 lead into the second quarter.
 
In the second quarter, Bates opened up on a 7-3 run to cut the Saint Vincent lead to 27-19, but once again the Bearcats got the lead back up to 11 at 30-19 after a basket by Bender. The Bobcats responded over the next several minutes with a 15-7 run to get the score to within three points at 37-34.
 
Coming down the court with minimal time remaining in the half, Bashor pulled up and hit a two-point jumper from just inside the three-point arc as the buzzer sounded giving Saint Vincent a 39-34 lead at the half.
 
Cavacini led the way with 14 points on 5-8 shooting from the field in the half. Thompson scored eight for the Bearcats in the half, while Weber scored six points, all of which came in the first quarter and also grabbed nine rebounds in the half.
 
Saint Vincent limited Bates to shoot just 36 percent from the field (13-36), while they shot a strong 45.7 percent from the field (16-35) on their end. The Bearcats were also 4-9 from the arc and outrebounded the Bobcats 25-18 in the half.
 
After an opening basket from Bates cut the lead back to three at 39-36 out of the locker room, it was all Bearcats from that point on. Saint Vincent answered with a 17-5 run to close the quarter out, taking a 56-41 lead. Bashor and Weber combined for eight of the Bearcats 17 points on the run.
 
In the fourth quarter, Bates would not go down without a challenge. Mannarino opened the quarter with a three-pointer for the Bearcats to open the lead up to 18, the Bearcats largest lead of the game, but that's when the Bobcats run began.
 
The Bobcats had a nearly six-minute drought without a field goal before a basket cut the lead to 59-45 and they continued with that momentum. Bates went on a 12-0 run over the next several minutes, which built into a 21-4 run, cutting the Saint Vincent led to just one point at 63-62 with 50 seconds remaining.
 
On the ensuing Bates possession, the Bearcats defense came up strong when Cavacini picked off a pass with under 10 seconds remaining. Saint Vincent called a timeout and Bates fouled, sending Weber to the line where she split a pair of free throws to make the Bearcats lead two at 64-62.
 
On the next Bates possession, they missed what would be the game-tying basket on a drive to the hope and Cavacini secured the rebound and went to the foul line for SVC. Just as Weber did, Cavacini split a pair of free throws and there wasn't enough time for Bates to get a shot off, securing the 65-62 win for Saint Vincent.
 
Saint Vincent limited Bates to just 34.8 percent (23-66) shooting from the field, forcing 12 turnovers as well. The Bearcats held the Bobcats to shoot just 18 percent from beyond the arc (5-27).
 
SVC on the other hand shot 40.6 percent (26-64) from the field and went 5-13 from beyond the three-point line. The Bearcats outrebounded Bates by a slight 43-40 margin.
 
The Bearcats defeat a Bates team who was 9-1 coming into the game, dropping them to 9-2 overall. Saint Vincent on the other hand moves back to .500 at 6-6, while also remaining at 4-3 in the PAC.
 
Saint Vincent will now head home from Florida and enjoy the next couple of weeks off for Christmas before returning to PAC play on Wednesday, January 3, playing host to Allegheny in the Robert S. Carey Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in Latrobe.