BEAVER FALLS, Pa. (Feb. 3) – The Saint Vincent College women's basketball team was unable to complete a late comeback, seeing its five-game winning streak come to a close with a 70-66 setback at Presidents' Athletic Conference foe Geneva.
 
Trailing by 10 points with less than eight minutes left in regulation, the Bearcats (11-10, 9-7 PAC) battled back to twice make it a one-point game in the final five minutes, but the Golden Tornadoes (11-11, 10-7) held their visitors to just two fields over the last 2:25 and sank four field goals in the final minute to hold off the SVC comeback.
 
Emily Cavacini led all scorers with 17 points, while grabbing a team-best nine rebounds, narrowly missing the double-double. Cavacini was one of three scorers in double-figures for SVC, as Camdon Bashor scored 12 points and Emily Thompson 10. Reese Gadsby and Ashley Lippold each came off the bench to score seven points.
 
Lizzie Bender battled through foul trouble for most of the game to snare eight rebounds, while Thompson grabbed six caroms and Madison Weber five. Defensively, Bashor had a team-high five blocked shots, while Lippold produced three of Saint Vincent's four steals.
 
The teams traded baskets throughout the duration of a back-and-forth, fast-paced first quarter. The Bearcats' largest lead of the frame came with 3:15 left, when a Bashor layup made it 14-10, but the Golden Tornadoes battled back to tie it at 18 at the close of the quarter.
 
Geneva looked to grab control in the second, opening the quarter on a 10-4 run to take a 28-22 lead with 6:11 until the break. Led by Bashor, the Bearcats quickly countered, as the sophomore center scored five points in a 70-second span to make it a one-point game, 28-27, with 3:39 to go. With 90 seconds left in the half, an offensive put-back by Lippold capped off a 7-0 SVC and put the visitors back in front, 29-28. The GTs would then score on their penultimate possession of the half to take a 30-29 lead into the break.
 
The Golden Tornadoes scored the first five points of the third quarter, but the SVC defense clamped down, holding the hosts scoreless over a three-minute span.  With 6:45 left, Alana Winkler scored on a driving layup, before Bashor and Cavacini each hit two free throws apiece to tie the game at 37-37 with 4:36 left in the quarter. The two teams traded baskets over the next two trips, but the Golden Tornadoes would close the quarter on a 12-6 run to take a 49-43 lead into the fourth.
 
Geneva kept the momentum to open up the final frame, scoring seven of the first 10 points of the quarter to open up a 10-point lead, 56-46, with 8:16 left in regulation. As was the case throughout the game, the Bearcats punched right back, using a 9-0 run over the next three minutes, with five points from Lippold, to trim the deficit to 56-55 with 5:27 remaining.
 
The Golden Tornadoes expanded the lead to 63-57 with 3:14 remaining, but two points apiece from Cavacini and Winkler made it a two-point game, 63-61, with 2:25 to go. Geneva's Aizlyn Thompson would then connect on a long three with 2:16 left to open up a five-point lead, and after a scoring drought from both squads, SVC's Jillian Mannarino answered with a trifecta of her own from the right wing to trim the gap to two, 68-66, with 20 seconds left. The Bearcat defense then forced a turnover on the ensuing trip, setting up a chance to tie or take the lead, but a jumper with six seconds left fell just short. The GTs would then hit two free throws with five seconds to go to seal the win.
 
Cynthia Milroy and Taylor Milroy led Geneva with 15 points apiece, while Aizlyn Thompson scored 11. Mia San Nicolas grabbed 12 rebounds.
 
Saint Vincent will be back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 7, welcoming PAC foe Bethany College to the Carey Center for a 5:30 p.m. matchup.