LATROBE, P.A. (Jan. 11)- The Saint Vincent women's basketball team notched their third straight victory in a 76-61 win over Allegheny on Saturday afternoon.
The game was a close matchup with Saint Vincent (8-6, 7-2 PAC) trailing Allegheny (8-6, 7-2 PAC) at halftime, but thanks to some strong defense and focused offense, the Bearcats were able to dominate the second half en route to a comfortable double-digit win.
Leading the way for the Bearcats was Emily Thompson who scored 20 points on 9-12 shooting from the field and 2-3 shooting from deep with five rebounds. Makenna Maier also made a nice impact with 13 points and eight rebounds. Danielle Pontius and Reese Gadsby both added 11 points. Jillian Mannarino scored nine points and Camdon Bashor added seven for the Bearcats.
It was a back and forth affair in the first quarter. The defenses came out strong, forcing tough looks and turnovers on both sides. Both offenses shot under 40% from the field in the first quarter as a result. Allegheny was able to get a few more shots thanks to some more turnover creation which gave them a 17-15 lead after 10 minutes.
The back and forth nature of the game continued in the 2nd quarter with Allegheny out scoring the Bearcats 20-17 in the quarter. Allegheny's offense was able to find a rhythm in this quarter, shooting 60% from the field. Saint Vincent shot just 39% but was able to keep the scoring close by pounding the glass and securing extra scoring chances thanks to offensive rebounds.
At halftime Allegheny led 37-32 thanks to their defensive intensity. They got after the Bearcats on defense, forcing 10 turnovers in the first half. Allegheny made sure to capitalize on those Bearcat mistakes, scoring 14 points on turnovers. The Bearcats were able to keep it close thanks to better three point shooting, strong rebounding, and the individual play of Makenna Maier who had 11 points on 4-7 shooting with two threes and four rebounds in the first half.
The Bearcats were able to take the lead thanks to a 9-2 run to start the 3rd quarter. The offense was still a bit disorganized, but the defense turned the water off. They held Allegheny to just 1-8 shooting over the first four minutes of the second half and forced 3 turnovers which helped spark their offense.
The game settled back into a back and forth affair from their with both offenses finally getting some consistency. Thanks to that early run and the offense coming around Saint Vincent was able to outscore Allegheny 20-12 in the third quarter giving them a 52-49 lead heading into the final frame.
Saint Vincent opened the quarter on another run. The Bearcats went on an 8-0 run thanks 4-5 shooting from the field and more strong defense forcing two turnovers in just two minutes. This run forced a Allegheny timeout and pushed the Bearcats lead to double digits.
The Bearcats were able to ride the offensive wave till the end, winning 76-61. The offense just hummed in the fourth quarter, with the Bearcats shooting 10-15 from the field. Outscoring Allegheny 24-12 in the 4th quarter it was a great close from the Bearcats to secure another win.
The Bearcats will look to push the win streak to four games with another big conference matchup against Chatham on Wednesday, January 15th. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the Robert S. Carey Center.
