The 25th-ranked Lady Bearcats overcame an eight-point halftime deficit to defeat host Wilmington College in the Championship Game of the Hampton Inn/Damon's Grill Tip-off Tournament in Wilmington, OH. The final score was 72-58.
Saint Vincent outscored the Quakers 47-25 in the second half, holding the hosts to just six field goals.
SVC was led by four players in double figures. Brittany Sedlock and Melissa Mansur each tallied 14 points, while Maria Baroffio added 13 and Devin McGrath scored 10.
Sedlock added 10 rebounds for her second consecutive double-double and was named Tournament MVP for her efforts.
The Lady Bearcats started slowly, falling behind 15-5 just five minutes into play. Wilmington increased its lead to 21-12 with 10 minutes left in the first half before Saint Vincent came back. Jumpers from McGrath and Mansur cut the deficit to four, 23-19, with 6:30 left, then three minutes later, SVC was able to tie the game on a trey by Mansur, 24-24.
Wilmington ended the half, however, on a 9-point run to take an eight-point lead, 33-25, at the half.
Saint Vincent came out strong in the second half, opening with a 14-5 run, capped by a steal and layup by Kathy Bianco.
The Lady Bearcats then added to their lead, and after three pointers from Mansur and Caty Kumar, the lead was 49-40 with just over 10 minutes left to play.
The hosts again came back, using a 13-4 run to tie the game at 53 on a three-pointer with seven minutes left.
However, SVC again pulled away, and used strong free throw shooting down the stretch to secure the win – hitting ten free throws in the closing minutes.
Saint Vincent shot 50% in the second half, compared to just 30% for Wilmington. The Lady Bearcats forced 29 turnovers in the game, with Sedlock, McGrath and Mansur each recording three steals.
Emily Fenton, the team's leading scorer in the opening game of the tournament, was also named to the all-tournament team.
The Lady Bearcats are now 2-0 on the season and will host John Carroll University in the Carey Center on Tuesday night at 6PM.