LATROBE, Pa. (Feb. 27)- For the fourth time in eight years, the Saint Vincent College women's basketball team will play for the Presidents' Athletic Conference championship on its home floor.
The top-seeded and regular season champion Bearcats (21-6) will host Washington and Jefferson (21-6) on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. in the Robert S. Carey Student Center, with the winner earning a bid to the 2026 NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament.
Reserved seating tickets are $7 and general admission is $5. Saint Vincent College employees, Saint Vincent College students, students from PAC member schools with a valid student ID, and any child under the age of 12 will be admitted FREE of charge.
First year Head Coach
Kam Gissendanner's Bearcats, will be seeking the program's fourth conference title in eight seasons, earning a spot in the title game with a dominant 78-60 home win over third-seeded Bethany College in the semifinals on Thursday night in the Carey Center.
Saint Vincent set the tone immediately with a dominant opening quarter, outscoring Bethany 24-11, while shooting 10-of-18 from the field in the period.
The Bearcats maintained control throughout, pushing the lead to 36-29 at halftime before delivering a decisive third quarter, outscoring the Bison 22-14 to open separation heading into the final 10 minutes.
Saint Vincent finished the night shooting 49.2% (31-of-63) overall and 36.8% (7-of-19) from three-point range, while also converting 9-of-12 at the foul line. SVC's defense created offense all night, forcing 15 Bethany turnovers and turning them into a 22-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
Individually,
Camdon Bashor led Saint Vincent with 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting and added seven rebounds, continuing her strong play in the postseason.
Olivia Yancy followed with 13 points, knocking down three three-pointers, while
Makenna Maier added 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting with a pair of triples.
Brooke Evans chipped in 10 points and five rebounds, and
Danielle Pontius added eight points while pacing the Bearcats with four assists. Off the bench,
Emerson Peffer supplied eight points and five rebounds,
Avina Norman scored six, and
Janay Rissmiller added four as Saint Vincent's depth helped keep pressure on Bethany throughout.
The Bearcats have compiled a tough defensive front throughout the course of the season. Saint Vincent ranked second in the PAC in points allowed per game, giving up just 55.4 PPG. Saint Vincent ranks in the top five in both opponent field goal percentage (fifth) and steals (fourth). SVC has allowed their opponents to shoot just 26% from the three point arc over the course of the season as well.
Offensively, the Bearcats have been just as strong. SVC ranks third in the PAC in overall field goal percentage and second in three point field goal percentage. The Bearcats ranked second in the league in free throw percentage and third in team rebounding margin.
Saint Vincent swept its season series with W&J, defeating the Presidents 72-59 on the road on Jan. 21, before earning a 77-74 overtime victory on Feb. 11 in Latrobe.
This is the Bearcats first PAC Championship appearance since 2023, when the Bearcats defeated Chatham in the title game to go to the NCAA Division III National Tournament.
The Bearcats are looking to make their fifth trip to the NCAA Division III National Tournament. They earned at-large bids after finishing as PAC runner-up in 2011 and 2012, while they picked up the automatic berth to the Big Dance in 2019 and 2023.
Gissendanner is no stranger to conference championship games. At La Roche, she led the Redhawks to eight AMCC Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances in 10 years. She has compiled over 250 career victories.
W&J, the reigning PAC Champs, enters Saturday's game on a five game win streak under veteran Head Coach Jina DeRubbo. Their last loss came at the hands of the Bearcats in that overtime game 16 days ago. To get to the championship game, W&J defeated third seeded Geneva and fourth seeded Chatham, both by double digits. The Presidents represented the PAC in the NCAA Division III tournament last season where they defeated Messiah in the opening round, before falling to Ohio Wesleyan.
Riley DeRubbo leads the Presidents in scoring averaging 15.4 PPG, while Katie Kovalchick is right behind her, averaging 15 PPG.
Saturday's PAC championship game will be streamed live on the PAC Sports Network at https://www.pacstream.net/basketball2/.
