GROVE CITY, Pa. (Feb. 14) – Behind strong performances from Taylor Mathers and Ally Schmidt, the Saint Vincent women's basketball team defeated Grove City 72-48 in Presidents' Athletic Conference play at the College Arena in Grove City.
The victory was the Bearcats' 16th straight in the head-to-head series with the Wolverines. The victory also meant the Bearcats clinched a 20-win season for the fifth time in the past six years. With the win, Saint Vincent (20-3 overall, 14-2 PAC) locked up one of the top two spots and a double-bye into the semifinals in the upcoming PAC Tournament.
The host Wolverines (10-13 overall, 8-8 PAC) got off to a strong start, converting three early baskets to gain a 6-2 lead over the first two and a half minutes.
GCC continued to work on its lead, twice building its lead to seven points, at 11-4 and then 13-6. That's when the Bearcats shook of their slow start to work their way back into the game. Forward Taylor Mathers connected on a layup to cut the Wolverines lead to 13-10 with 13:49 to play in the half.
Another jumper from Mathers tied the game at 15-15 with 11:34 to play in the first half. Saint Vincent regained the lead when sophomore Hannah Carroll connected on a layup on a fastbreak, making the score 20-19 at the 8:14 mark.
Junior forward Shalia Williams added two free throws to push the SVC lead to 22-19 with 6:50 to play in the half. Grove City then used back-to-back layups to regain the lead, at 23-22 with 5:32 remaining in the half.
However, that would be the last lead for the Wolverines. Drew Meeker knocked down the game's only first-half three-pointer for either team. The Meeker trey was followed up by a pair of free throws by senior guard Ally Schmidt, with 2:55 to make the advantage 27-23 in favor of Saint Vincent.
The Bearcats closed the half strong, as Schmidt and Mathers both converted layups and made it 31-25 Bearcats at halftime.
Saint Vincent stormed out in the second half, using a 21-4 run over the first six minutes, pushing their lead all the way to 52-29. Schmidt and Mathers combined to score the first 10 points of the run, while Meeker capped the Bearcat run with another three-point field goal.
Grove City could never get the Bearcats lead back under 20 the rest of the contest. SVC saw its lead stretch to as many as 27 points on two occasions, the last of which was with 5:25 to play.
Saint Vincent clamped down on the defensive end, allowing Grove City to convert just 33.3 percent from the field. The Bearcats also forced the Wolverines into 28 turnovers.
Mathers posted her seventh double-double this season, with a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds. Schmidt put together a strong performance, nearly eclipsing her career-high with 18 points and also adding a game-best six assists.
The contest against the Wolverines concluded the Bearcats road schedule for the regular season. SVC will host a pair of PAC contests next week at the Carey Center. The first of which is against Thiel College on Wednesday, Feb. 18. Start time is set for 5:30 p.m.