NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. (Feb. 18) – The Saint Vincent women's basketball team closed the 2016-17 regular season with a 60-46 road victory over Westminster College in Presidents' Athletic Conference play.
The win moves Saint Vincent to 16-9 overall and 13-5 in PAC action. Westminster finishes the regular season slate at 10-15 overall and 5-13 in league play.
Both teams struggled through a cold-shooting first half, as the Bearcats and Titans each converted less than 30 percent of field goals over the first 20 minutes.
Back-to-back baskets four minutes into the first quarter helped Westminster to an early 6-2 lead. Jasmine Weems made her second basket of the quarter, off an assist from Hannah Carroll, drawing SVC within 6-4 at the 5:59 mark.
After the Bearcats forced a turnover defensively, Kayla Slovenec converted a pair of free throws to tie the game at 6-6 with 5:31 left in the first. Westminster would counter with back-to-back baskets while holding SVC without points for the next four-plus minutes before Taylor Boring got a fastbreak jumper to fall late in the first quarter.
Saint Vincent started the second quarter on a 7-2 run to take a 15-12 run at the 5:34 mark. Paige Montroseconnected on a deep two-point jumper before Susie Ellis added five straight points to cap the run.
Paige Quinn knocked down back-to-back threes to help Westminster retake the lead at 18-15. Saint Vincent would hold the Titans without a point for the remaining 3:31 of half, while scoring the next three points to the game at 18-18. Montrose used a steal defensively and an uncontested layup to draw the Bearcats even at the break.
The Bearcats got things going offensively in the second half, outscoring the Titans 24-15 in the third quarter. Ellis and Weems made back-to-back baskets to give SVC a four-point (27-23) advantage early in the quarter.
From there, the Bearcats would continue to build upon the lead. Montrose drained a deep jumper off an inbounds pass and then Maria Morgan added a steal and transition layup to push the lead to 33-27 with 1:46 left in the third.
After the Titans would respond with a layup, Weems made back-to-back baskets, including a three-pointer to make it 38-30 with 39 seconds remaining. Boring would add the final four points of the quarter for the Bearcats, as SVC led 42-33 after three.
A steal and layup by Montrose pushed the Bearcats lead into double figures (46-35) early in the fourth quarter. A little later, Carroll drained a three from straight on to give the Bearcats their biggest lead of the game to that point (52-37) with 4:47 left.
A layup each from Ellis and Weems, as well as free throws by Carroll helped the Bearcats extend the lead to as many as 19 before the Bearcats claimed a 60-46 victory.
Ellis paced the Bearcats offensively with 14 points and 8 rebounds, while Weems added 13 points and 5 rebounds. Montrose produced another strong showing off the bench, totaling 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks. Morgan recorded a game-best seven assists.
Saint Vincent shot 48.6 percent from the field in the second half en route to the victory. SVC held a slight 45-40 edge in rebounding. Defensively, the Bearcats forced the Titans into 18 turnovers and only allowed 14 field goals in the contest.
The Bearcats finished the regular season in a tie for second place with W&J at 13-5 in PAC play. However, the Presidents won both head-to-head meetings to claim the #2 seed in the upcoming PAC Tournament.
Saint Vincent is locked into the #3 seed in the upcoming PAC Tournament and will play in the quarterfinals at the Carey Center on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. Saint Vincent will play host to the winner of Monday's first round game between the #6 seed Bethany and #7 seed Chatham.