WAYNESBURG, PA (Feb. 12)- The Saint Vincent women's basketball team put together a strong effort on defense but ultimately fell 61-50 to Waynesburg on Wednesday evening.

The offense struggled for the Bearcats (12-10, 11-6 PAC) as they were never able to find consistency on that end of the floor. Waynesburg (12-10, 7-10 PAC) did not fair much better on offense, but they were able to put together more runs to get a lead in this one.

Despite the offensive struggles the Bearcats still had some nice individual performances. Makenna Maier led the team in scoring with 14 points on 6-12 shooting from the field with two threes and seven rebounds. Camdon Bashor was the other Bearcat to reach double figures, scoring 13 points on 5-7 shooting from the field.

Both offenses got off to a very slow start, combining to shoot just 10-38 from the field. Neither team was able to find the shots they wanted inside. Both defenses also did well to defend without fouling and limit chances from outside. After a back-and-forth opening quarter, Waynesburg led 13-11.

Waynesburg started the second quarter on a quick 7-0 run to push their lead to 20-11. They were able to take advantage of some Bearcat mistakes to get out and run and make the game easy on themselves.

After a bit of back-and-forth Waynesburg blitzed the Bearcats with another 10-0 run to extend their lead to 30-14. They were efficient in their offensive attack with the ball swinging around and getting contributions from many different players. The Bearcats went 0-5 during this stretch and turned it over two times fueling the run.

The Bearcats were able to keep it competitive with a 10-2 run of their own to end the half. Their offense finally started to click with good shots being converted and their defense shut the water off allowing them to cut the lead down, trailing 32-24 at halftime.

Early in the third quarter it looked like the Bearcats would continue to cut into the lead. From there through the rest of the quarter however, it was all Waynesburg. The Yellow Jackets shot 58% form the field and held the Bearcats to just 27% shooting in the quarter. Their offense found a great rhythm, using shots at the rim to open up opportunities outside. They weren't perfect, with eight turnovers in the quarter, but their stout defense was able to overcome those mistakes. They ended the quarter on 16-6 run, leading 48-34.

The fourth quarter was again a very back-and-forth quarter. Waynesburg took their foot off the gas a bit due to their lead which allowed the Bearcat defense to really lock in. They held Waynesburg to 19% shooting in the quarter and gave themselves a fighting chance. Unfortunately, the offense just could not find enough consistency to close the gap. The offense was improved, shooting 43% from the field, but with Waynesburg knocking down their free throws and time dwindling they could just never grasp a full opportunity to come back, losing 61-50.

The Bearcats shot just 32% from the field and only hit four threes. 

Saint Vincent will look to get back in the win column this Saturday, February 15 on the road at Allegheny. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in Meadville.