LATROBE, Pa. (Jan. 17) – The Saint Vincent College women's basketball team fired on all cylinders to move back to .500 in conference play with a 94-42 victory over visiting Thiel in a Presidents' Athletic Conference matchup in the Robert S. Carey Student Center.
 
The Bearcats (8-9, 6-6 PAC) saw 13 different players find the scoresheet, including five who tallied more than nine points, as the team shot a season-best 59 percent (41-70) from the field in the victory. The 94 points mark the highest single-game output for SVC since a 95-61 victory over Geneva in the 2021 abbreviated COVID season-opener on Feb. 6, 2021.
 
The SVC defense was just as strong, forcing 25 Thiel turnovers while limiting the Tomcats to just 27 percent from the field (15-55). Saint Vincent scored 40 points off of the 25 Thiel miscues
 
Emily Cavacini led the SVC offensive effort, scoring a game-high 18 points, going 8-11 from the field. Freshman Ashley Lippold added a career-high 16 points, also on 8-11 shooting, while the frontcourt duo of Lizzie Bender and Camdon Bashor each scored 12 points, with Bender connecting on six of nine field goal attempts and Bashor going a perfect 6-6 from the foul line.

Reese Gadsby contributed nine points for Saint Vincent and Kayla Sharman seven.
 
Lippold led the Bearcats' defensive effort, recording a career-high eight steals, while Jillian Mannarino and Alana Winkler each added two thefts apiece.
 
The Bearcats also had their way on the boards, outrebounding the Tomcats 41-29. Bender led the way with five rebounds, with Bashor and Gadsby each snaring four caroms.
 
Thiel used a pair of three-pointers to take a 9-2 lead four minutes into the first quarter, but the Bearcats answered back in a big way, outscoring the Tomcats 24-4 over the final six minutes of the frame, led by eight points from Lippold.
 
The run continued in the opening minutes of the second half, with Sharman scoring a pair of buckets in the opening two minutes, before two Bashor free throws opened up a 34-15 advantage with 7:53 left in the half. The lead continued to grow for the Bearcats, as following the Bashor freebies, they outscored the Tomcats 16-3 over the final six minutes of the half to take a 50-18 lead at the half on a buzzer-beating mid-range jumper from Cavacini.
 
The Bearcats continued to coast, outscoring the Tomcats 21-10 in the third quarter to take a 73-32 lead, and then closing the game with a 23-point fourth quarter to cruise to the victory.  
 
Along with scoring 40 points off of turnovers, Saint Vincent had a 64-8 advantage in points in the paint and a 33-1 margin in fastbreak points.
 
Thiel was led on the scoresheet by Jesen Stehlik, who scored 10 points, and Taylor Susany, who added nine points and a team-high eight rebounds.
 
The Bearcats, now winners of two straight, will take to the road on Saturday, Jan. 20, to face longtime PAC rival Westminster College beginning at 1:30 p.m.