STEUBENVILLE, Ohio (Jan. 22)- The Saint Vincent women's basketball team used a strong offensive attack to cruise past Franciscan with a 97-48 Presidents Athletic Conference Victory on the road on a cold Wednesday night.
 
The Bearcats (9-8, 8-4 PAC) were able to get back on track with a huge offensive outburst that included three quarters where they scored 20-plus points to breeze past Franciscan (1-16, 1-11 PAC).
 
19 different Saint Vincent players played in the game, while 16 different Bearcats scored, including three of which scored in double figures.
 
Reese Gadsby and Makenna Maier led the way with 15 points each, while Gadsby grabbed six rebounds and Maier grabbed seven. Gadsby also dished out three assists and picked up two steals, while Maier recorded two assists and one steal of her own.
 
Emily Thompson was the third Bearcat to score in double figures, totaling 11 points, while also dishing out two assists and grabbed two steals as well.
 
Freshman, Emerson Peffer added eight points for Saint Vincent, while also grabbing three boards and dished out two assists. Emily Glass scored her first collegiate points late in the half for the Bearcats, while Janay Rissmiller scored for the first time in the green and gold as well.
 
It was back-and-forth start for the early portions of the first quarter. After Franciscan took and early 9-4 lead, the Bearcats stormed back with a 13-2 run over the next few minutes of game time to take a 17-11 advantage with about one minute remaining in the opening quarter and that would remain the score at the end of the opening quarter.
 
That Bearcats run continued into the second quarter as Saint Vincent went on to grow their lead to double figures, leading 28-18 after an 11-7 spurt with about six minutes remaining in the half.
 
It was a huge second quarter in totality for the Bearcats as they went on to outscore Franciscan 28-13 in the quarter to hold a 47-24 lead at the half. SVC shot almost 60% from the field in the quarter with a 10-17 clip going into the half.
 
In the half, Maier led the Bearcats with 12 points, while Gadsby scored in double figures as well with 11 points.
 
Saint Vincent shot 18-35 from the field in the half, while limiting Franciscan to shoot just 31% (10-32). The Bearcats also significantly outrebounded the Barons by a 25-16 margin.
 
It was all Bearcats in the third quarter as well. Saint Vincent continued to thrive on both ends of the court as SVC outscored the Barons 30-11 in the third quarter.  SVC opened the quarter on a 14-2 run to take a 61-27 with about five minutes remaining in the third quarter.
 
That SVC burst continued as Saint Vincent would outscore Franciscan 14-8 over the remainder of the quarter as they led by 40 at 75-35 going into the fourth quarter.
 
SVC emptied their bench in the fourth quarter to close out the road conference win. The Bearcats outscored the Barons 22-13 in the fourth quarter to cruise to the almost 50-point victory.
 
Saint Vincent was very efficient from the field, shooting 56% (41-74), while limiting Franciscan to shoot just 29% (18-62) from the field. SVC also forced 20 Franciscan turnovers, scoring 37 points off of their turnovers. They outscored the Barons by almost 30 points in the paint with a 54-26 clip.
 
The Bearcats will return to action on Saturday, January 25, hosting Thiel in a PAC matchup. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. in the Robert S. Carey Center on Saturday afternoon.