The Saint Vincent women's basketball team advanced to the Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship with a 70-53 victory over Waynesburg University in a semifinal game held in Crestview Hills, KY.
All five SVC starters scored in double-figures, led by Emily Fenton's 18, while Devin McGrath grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds. Brittany Sedlock added 15 points, Melissa Mansur 11, and Maria Baroffio 10.
The Bearcats fired on all cylinders from the start, jumping ahead 11-2 just three minutes into play. The advantage would continue to grow, with a Mansur hoop at the 12-minute mark making the socre 27-6, before Fenton scored five points in a 30-second span, capped with a long three pointer with 6:17 left, to give the Bearcats a 37-15 lead.
Over the first half, Saint Vincent shot a blistering 60 percent (16-for-28) from the floor, including a 4-for-8 mark from behind the three-point line. Conversely, the Yellow Jackets made just nine field goals on 26 attempts, while committing 13 first half turnovers.
Fenton got the Bearcats off to a strong start in the second half, nailing two threes from the corner in the first 40 seconds to push the SVC advantage to 47-23. A Sedlock free throw with 17 minutes left gave SVC its largest advantage of the night, 48-23.
The Yellow Jackets then looked to chip away at the deficit, holding the Bearcats off the scoreboard for nearly six minutes during a 12-1 run that pulled the score to 60-48 with five minutes left in the half. It was as close as the score would get, however, as the Bearcats outscored the 'Jackets 6-2 over the final two minutes, capped off with two Fenton free throws with 44 seconds left that sealed her team's trip to the PAC finals.
However, the news was not all good for Saint VIncent, as the team lost two guards - Baroffio and Caty Kumar - to injuries within a 30-second span in the second half. Their status for the Championship game on Saturday is unknown at this time.
Waynesburg, which ends the season with an 18-9 mark, was led on the scoresheet by Hannah Hunter, who led both sides with 24 points, while teammate Jessi Drayer added 10. Hunter also had a team-high eight rebounds, as the Yellow Jackets owned a 46-31 advantage on the glass.
The Bearcats (24-3) will reutrn to action on Saturday night, taking on the #1-ranked Thomas More College Saints at 5pm for the PAC title. Thomas More (27-0) advanced to the title game by defeating Grove City, 66-54, in the other semifinal.