LATROBE, Pa. (Jan. 4)- The Saint Vincent women's basketball team defeated Waynesburg by a score of 76-66 on Saturday afternoon at home.
 

Saint Vincent (6-6, 5-2 PAC) overcame an early deficit to earn a hotly contested victory over Waynesburg (6-6, 1-6 PAC) thanks to a smart and fundamentally sound performance as a team.

Makenna Maier led the charge for the Bearcats, finishing the game with a double-double scoring 20 points on 6-11 shooting from the field and 2-4 shooting from deep and ripping down 12 boards. Camdon Bashor also got into double figures scoring 12 points on 6-10 shooting and playing strong post defense on the other end. Danielle Pontius played a crucial role off the bench scoring eight points with two threes and kept the offense flowing with four assists.
 

Waynesburg started the game hot, getting a quick 10-4 lead to open the game thanks to some strong defense and good shooting from deep. From there both teams traded baskets until Maier went on a personal 5-0 run to cut the lead to just two. From there the teams again went back and forth with both offenses clicking. Waynesburg led 25-23 at the end of the first quarter with both teams shooting over 50% from the field and 75% from deep.
 

The Bearcats opened the second quarter with more defensive intensity, turning Waynesburg over twice in the first minute and a half which fueled a quick 8-0 Saint Vincent run to take the lead 31-25. The Waynesburg offense quickly found its flow again however. They responded with an 11-3 run to take the lead back with about 4 minutes left in the half. From there, just like in the first quarter, both teams settled in from there. However, this time it was settling in on the defensive end as both teams. The Bearcats were able to make a few more plays down the stretch to hold a 42-41 lead into halftime.
 

Both offenses cooled after blistering starts but scoring was still the story of the first half. Waynesburg shot just 43% from the field, but knocked down 6 threes and hit the offensive boards hard to get more scoring opportunities. The Bearcats shot 47% from the field but hit just three threes comparatively. Their advantage was at the line, where they shot 9-10 in the first half. Both teams made it a point to get to the paint, with the Bearcats attacking the rim hard to either score inside or get to the line. Waynesburg used their interior touches to score from the post or spray out to shooters. At the end of the first half this game was as close as can be.
 

It would remain close in the third quarter, with the defensive intensity from the end of the first half carrying over to this quarter. Both teams opened the first half of the 3rd quarter shooting under 40% from the field. Saint Vincent was able to get a slight 53-47 lead with about 5 minutes left in the quarter thanks to continued success at the line, going 5-6 in that stretch.
 

Both offenses got some rhythm from there, matching each other for the rest of the quarter 9-9. Both teams took care of the ball well and found good shots all over the floor to put the score at 62-56 Saint Vincent heading into the final frame.
 

The defense was lockdown over the first four and a half minutes to start the fourth quarter with both teams combining to shoot 2-12 from the field. Both those makes were from the Bearcats which allowed them to extend their lead to 67-58 with about 5:30 left to play. The story of the game continued from there with the teams trading buckets down the stretch. The Bearcats found themselves up at the right time and were able to hold on to win 76-66.
 

This game looked at first like it was going to be an offense battle but quickly devolved into a defensive chess match that only got tougher as the game went on. The Bearcats shot just 43% from the field, but Waynesburg had an even worse showing, shooting just 38% from the field. The real difference in the game came at the line, where Saint Vincent hit 20 free throws to Waynesburg's 11. The turnovers also gave the Bearcats a boost, forcing 16 and scoring 18 points off those turnovers. Saint Vincent just hit on more fundamentals and that was enough to lead them to victory.

Saint Vincent will head to West Virginia on Wednesday, January 8 to take on Bethany and look to build off of this performance. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. in Bethany.