Bison Women's Basketball Falls to Saint Vincent in Opening Round of PAC Tournament
Feb. 22 – LATROBE, Pa. – The Bethany College women's basketball team ended the 2015-16 campaign with a 67-52 defeat to fifth-seeded Saint Vincent in the opening round of the Presidents' Athletic Conference Tournament on Monday. Junior Hayley Holenka (Shadyside, Ohio/Shadyside) led the Bison with 22 points as she set the single-season school record for made three-point field goals (64).
The Bison (8-18, 6-12 PAC) fell behind early as they trailed 13-3 late in the first quarter.
A three from Maclaine Murad (Bridgeport, Ohio/Bridgeport) helped cut the Saint Vincent lead to six (14-8) with two minutes remaining in the frame. The Bearcats held a 19-10 advantage at the first break.
Saint Vincent (14-12, 8-10 PAC) extended their advantage to double digits as Bethany struggled to finish offensive possessions with points.
The Bison trailed by as many as 17 during the quarter but managed to cut the lead to 35-23 at the half. Holenka knocked down the first of her three triples late in the quarter.
The Bearcats continued to keep the Bison offense at bay, building a 50-29 advantage with 2:54 to go in the third period.
Kelsi Settle (Sebring, Ohio/Sebring) converted a pair from the free-throw line to make it 50-33 at the conclusion of the third. Settle finished with six points and seven rebounds in the game.
Bethany continued to battle until the final whistle as senior Mikyla Tipton (Wellsville, Ohio/Wellsville) collected her career-high 16th rebound and found Holenka on the fast break for the layup with 10 seconds remaining. The Bison went on to fall 67-52 .
Holenka led the Bison with 22 points in the playoff contest. The junior guard finished 8-of-18 from the floor, including 3-of-9 from distance. Holenka finished the season with a school record 64 three pointers, passing Kiki Cohen's total of 62 in 2001-02.
Tipton finished with seven points to go along with her game-high 16 rebounds. Taylor Large (Hopwood, Pa./Laurel Highlands) and Kelsea Daugherty (Newport, Ohio/Frontier) chipped in five points each.
Ashley Duthie (Madison, Ohio/Madison) paced the Green & White offense with four assists while Tipton added two of her own. Both Duthie and Tipton collected two blocks and a steal as well.