GROVE CITY, Pa. (Jan. 18)- The Saint Vincent women's basketball team fell to Grove City on Saturday afternoon, 59-47

Offensive struggles doomed the Bearcats (8-8, 7-4 PAC) in this game, and even though Grove City (9-7, 7-4 PAC) also had their struggles on offense, they were able to generate enough runs to take the lead and keep it in this low scoring affair.

Danielle Pontius had a solid game for Saint Vincent. She scored 10 points on 4-7 shooting from the field. Jillian Mannarino was strong on defense, recording five steals in just 15 minutes.

The first quarter started back and forth with both offenses coming out strong and converting at a high clip. With about four minutes left in the quarter, Grove City went turned it on, going on a 10-0 run to push the lead to 19-10 at the end of the quarter. Turnovers were a huge problem for the Bearcats with seven in the quarter.

Grove City continued the run into the second quarter thanks to stifling defense. From the middle of the first quarter till about two minutes left in the second quarter Grove City went on a 21-7 run to push the lead to 30-17. During this stretch Saint Vincent shot just 2-19 from the field. Grove City deployed an aggressive full court press that just smothered the Bearcats offense, forcing turnovers and putting Saint Vincent in a lot of deep shot clock situations.

Thanks to more aggressive play on offense and making it a point to get to the basket, the Bearcats were able to go on a quick 6-0 run before halftime to keep themselves in the game, as they trailed 30-23 at the break.

In total Saint Vincent shot just 26% from the field. The Grove City press gave them fits all half, with the Bearctas just never fully getting comfortable against it. 

Both teams continued to struggle offensively in the third quarter. They shot a combined 28% from the field in the quarter and turned it over a combined 12 times. Despite leaving five points at the line, Grove City was able to grow their lead by two heading into the fourth quarter up 42-33.

The fourth quarter followed suit with both offenses continuing to struggle from the field. Grove City made an extra effort on the glass this quarter grabbing six offensive rebounds. Thanks to those extra scoring opportunities they were able to slightly grow their lead again, handing Saint Vincent the 59-47 defeat.

The Bearcats shot just 28% from the field and 20% from deep as a team. The defense on the other hand, was stellar. Holding Grove City to just 31% from the field they never let the offensive struggles discourage them, competing hard and sticking to their game plan on that end. 

Saint Vincent will look to bounce back this Wednesday, January 22 on the road at Franciscan. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in Stebuenville, Ohio