BETHANY, W.Va. (Feb. 8) – Seniors Susie Ellis and Jasmine Weems combined for 37 points to help lead the Saint Vincent women's basketball team to a 69-64 road victory over Bethany College at the Hummel Fieldhouse.
 
The victory helped the Bearcats maintain its hold on third place in Presidents' Athletic Conference play and also avenge an earlier loss at home to the Bison.
 
Saint Vincent used strong shooting and pressure defense to build an early 8-0 lead. Weems opened the scoring with a three pointer before Babette Sanmartin recorded a steal and converted a layup to make it 5-0. Capping the run was Ellis, who nailed a three-pointer of her own at the 8:12 mark.
 
After a timeout, Bethany used back-to-back layups to cut the Bearcats' lead in half at 8-4. Ellis would score the next four points, draining a three and splitting a pair of free throws, to make it 12-4 Saint Vincent.
 
The Bison would counter back with a pair of three-pointers by Hayley Holenka, cutting the SVC edge to 15-10. A pair of open layups from Maria Morgan helped provide the offense over the final two minutes of the quarter as the Bearcats held a 19-15 edge after 10 minutes.
 
Hannah Carroll started the second quarter to stretch the Bearcats lead to six (21-15). However, the Bison countered back with eight straight points to take its first lead, a 23-21 advantage. The lead was short-lived for the Bison though, as Carroll came right back with a jumper of her own.
 
SVC would convert 5-of-6 free throws at the line to push the lead to 28-23, including a pair from Ellis and Weems. After a three by Bethany, Saint Vincent would answer with six straight, with baskets by Ellis, Paige Montrose and Madison Kollar.
 
The Bearcats would stretch the second quarter lead to 35-28 with three points from Kollar before Bethany made a layup to make it 35-30 at half.
 
Saint Vincent shot 44 percent from the field in the first half, making 12 of 27 shots. The Bearcats made 4-of-6 three-pointers, with Weems and Ellis each going 2-for-3 from distance. Ellis led SVC with 11 points, while Ellis added eight over the first 20 minutes of play. Meanwhile, Bethany shot 39 percent but also converted four three-point attempts.
 
A layup by the Bison cut the Bearcats lead to 38-35 with 6:15 left in the third. Kayla Slovenec would finish on back-to-back baskets to quickly give SVC a 42-35 edge at the 4:09 mark. Weems would then grab an offensive rebound and sink a jumper to swell the lead to eight (46-38) at the 3:10 mark.
 
The teams would exchange baskets down the stretch of the third, as the Bearcats took a 52-44 lead into the fourth. Kollar and Taylor Boring combined for the final six points of the quarter for SVC.
 
Bethany started the fourth with five straight points to cut the deficit to 52-49. Weems answered with a three-pointer from straight on to make it 55-49 at the 6:45 mark. The Bison would use a 5-0 run to close the score within a single point, at 55-54.
 
Weems would again answer, this time converting a driving layup. After a Bethany offensive rebound and layup, Weems would tack on another three, making it 60-56.
 
On the ensuing possession, Bethany used gained three offensive rebounds before finally converting an old fashioned three-point play to cut the deficit back to a single-point once again, trailing 60-59 at the 2:50 mark.
 
From that point, Ellis took over for Saint Vincent, scoring eight of the past nine points. The run started with a layup and free throw with 1:00 left, to make it 63-59. Ellis would convert 5-of-6 free throw attempts down the stretch, while also adding a defensive steal to help seal the win.
 
Along with Ellis and Weems contributions, Sanmartin pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Meanwhile, Carroll and Slovenec each chipped in three assists. Bethany was led by Kelsea Daugherty, who recorded a double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds.
 
Saint Vincent was able to overcome being out-rebounded by a 48-28 margin. The Bearcats forced 17 turnovers defensively, while committing just seven turnovers. 
 
The victory is the fourth straight for the Bearcats, who move to 14-8 overall and 11-4 in PAC play. The Bison drop to 11-11 overall and 9-6 in conference action.
 
Saint Vincent closes out the home portion of its schedule with a Senior Day contest against Thiel on Saturday, Feb. 11. Start time is set for 4 p.m.