LATROBE, Pa. (Jan. 17) – The Saint Vincent women's basketball team used a dominant start and deep bench production to earn a 66-45 Presidents' Athletic Conference victory over Allegheny College Saturday afternoon at the Robert S. Carey Center.
The Bearcats improved to 11-4 overall and 6-0 in PAC play, while the Gators moved to 7-8 overall and 4-2 in conference action.
Saint Vincent set the tone immediately and never trailed, outscoring Allegheny 18-5 in the first quarter to establish control. The Bearcats carried a 39-13 advantage into halftime and continued to dictate the tempo the rest of the way.
Despite a tough shooting day from the field, Saint Vincent's defensive pressure and ability to get to the foul line made the difference. The Bearcats forced 18 Allegheny turnovers while committing just nine, and they turned those takeaways into 16 points off turnovers. Saint Vincent also won the hustle categories in transition and on the interior, finishing with 14 fast-break points and 28 points in the paint.
Offensively, the Bearcats were led by a pair of 15-point performances from
Olivia Yancy and
Emerson Peffer. Yancy went 5-of-8 from the floor, knocked down both of her three-point attempts, and added three free throws, while Peffer scored her 15 on 7-of-13 shooting and pulled down eight rebounds.
Danielle Pontius added 12 points, converting 4-of-5 shots and going 4-of-6 at the free-throw line.
Allegheny was paced by Isabella Antonacci's 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting, while Jess Bickart finished with nine points, and both Ava Kobus and Sarah Santicola scored six. The Bearcats held the Gators to 17-of-53 shooting (32.1%), including 7-of-22 from three, and limited Allegheny to just five points in the opening quarter.
Saint Vincent got a huge boost from its depth, finishing with 35 bench points, and closed the game by making 11 fourth-quarter free throws to maintain separation.
The Bearcats return to action on Wednesday, January 21 with a road matchup at W&J. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Washington.
