LATROBE, Pa. (Feb. 15) – The Saint Vincent College women's basketball team rode its defense to a 47-38 victory over Presidents' Athletic Conference foe Bethany College in the Robert S. Carey Student Center.
The Bearcats (18-4, 16-3 PAC) limited Bethany (9-16, 9-11 PAC) to just 20 percent from the field (11-for-54), while it marked the fourth time this season – and second consecutive game – in which SVC surrendered fewer than 40 points.
While the Saint Vincent offense did not have its best night, shooting just 29 percent from the field, two players scored in double figures, with Ella Marconi bucketing 12 points and Emily Cavacini 10, while Madison Weber added nine. The Bearcats had a big night on the glass, corralling a season-high 52 rebounds. Weber led the way with a career-high 17 boards, while Alana Winkler grabbed 10 and Marconi nine.
Winkler also paced Saint Vincent and led both sides with seven steals and four assists.
The Bearcats fired on all cylinders to open the game, out-scoring the Bison 12-2 over the first six minutes of play. Cavcini fueled the early run with eight points, including two three-pointers. SVC's lead would eventually grow to 17-5 at the end of the quarter after a three from Anna Betz in the closing seconds.
Saint Vincent's lead hovered between 10 and 12 points over the opening four minutes of the second quarter before the momentum went the way of Bethany, which rattled off a 7-0 run to cut the gap to five, 21-16, on an Ashleigh Wheeler trey with 2:49 left in the half. The Bearcats would then take charge heading into the break, with Marconi's put back beating the buzzer and giving SVC a 27-19 halftime lead.
Marconi and Cavacini scored on consecutive trips to open the third quarter and increase the SVC lead to 31-19, but the Bearcats would then go ice cold, managing just one point over the final eight minutes of the quarter. Bethany scored the final eight points of the frame to pull to within five, 32-27, at the end of the quarter.
The Bison hit a pair of free throws in the opening minute of the fourth quarter to shrink the SVC lead to 32-29, the closest margin of the night, but Saint Vincent slowly wrested control from the visitors. Emily Thompson's jumper with 6:56 to go opened up a 37-31 lead, before Weber and Winkler scored on layups underneath within a 30-second span to push the Bearcat advantage back into double digits, 41-31, with 4:31 to go. Marconi would then answer two empty Bethany possessions with layups underneath off of feeds from Weber to cap off a 13-3 run and push SVC in front 45-31 with 3:03 left, putting the game away.
Along with its 52-44 edge in rebounding for the game, Saint Vincent out-scored Bethany 30-11 in points in the paint, while the Bearcats scored 11 second-chance points and nine points off of 15 Bethany turnovers.
The Bison were led by Taylor Dusenberry, who scored 12 points with seven rebounds.
The Saint Vincent win locked up the No. 2 seed in the upcoming PAC Championship Tournament, guaranteeing the Bearcats a first-round home game on Monday, Feb. 20.
SVC will close out the 2022-23 regular season on Saturday, Feb. 18, traveling to Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, for a 1 p.m. tip against longtime PAC rival Geneva College.
