WASHINGTON, Pa. (Nov. 8) – The Saint Vincent College women's basketball team lost its 2024-25 season-opener, 70-60, to Otterbein at the Hampton Inn by Hilton Tip-Off, hosted by Washington & Jefferson College.
 
Sophomore Ashley Lippold paced the Bearcats, leading the team with 12 points, eight rebounds and three steals.
 
Junior Reese Gadsby added 11 points, while sinking two of her team's three-pointers, and added six rebounds, while sophomore Danielle Pontius scored 10 points.
 
Makenna Maier added nine points and six rebounds, and junior Camdon Bashor blocked three shots and grabbed five boards.
 
The Bearcats used a stifling defense to take a 12-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, limiting the Cardinals to just two field goals and forcing six turnovers. Maier netted seven points in the opening 10 minutes to lead SVC.
 
Fueled by a Gadsby three-pointer and buckets on back-to-back trips from Lippold, the Bearcats extended their lead to 19-10 with seven minutes left in the second quarter. The tables then quickly turned, with Otterbein outscoring SVC 23-9 over the final 6:32 to take a 33-28 lead at the intermission.
 
Saint Vincent chipped away at the deficit in the early stages of the third quarter, with baskets from Emily Thompson, Pontius and Mannarino, and a pair of free throws from Bashor, closing the gap to 39-38 with 6:50 left in the third quarter. Otterbein answered back with another lengthy run, outscoring SVC 14-6 over the next five minutes to up the lead to 53-44 with 2:49 left in the quarter. After the teams traded baskets over the next 90 seconds, Pontius scored on back-to-back trips to end the quarter, with Otterbein leading, 57-50.
 
After a scoreless first two minutes of the fourth quarter, Gadsby's jumper with 7:55 left closed the deficit to five, 57-52, before the Cardinals scored five straight to extend the lead to double digits, 63-53. SVC scored seven of the game's next nine points, with a Lippold layup, a Gadsby three and a Pontius bucket in the paint cutting it to 65-60 with 1:58 remaining, but SVC would get no closer, as Otterbein scored the game's final five points to close out the win.
 
Saint Vincent and Otterbein each collected 43 rebounds, and both teams connected on 25 field goals, but Otterbein held the edge at both the foul line and behind the arc. The Cardinals went 13-for-20 from the line compared to the Bearcats' 7-for-12 mark, while Otterbein connected on seven three-pointers to SVC's three.
 
Kyla Irby scored 14 points to lead five Otterbein scorers in double digits, while Maizie King turned in an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double.

The Bearcats will be back in action on Saturday afternoon, returning to W&J to take on Baldwin Wallace at 2 p.m.