CENTER VALLEY, Pa. (Nov. 19) – The Saint Vincent women's basketball team defeated William Paterson University (NJ) by a 83-58 score in the opening round of the Morgan Stanley Tip-Off Tournament, hosted by DeSales University.
 
With the win, Saint Vincent advances to the tournament championship game against host DeSales University on Sunday at 4 p.m. The Bulldogs defeated Haverford 66-58 in the first game of the day.
 
William Paterson opened the game, splitting a pair of free throws, taking an early 1-0 lead. SVC countered quickly as Babette Sanmartin got the Bearcats on the board with a layup. WP added another split at the charity stripe to tie the game at 2-2.
 
Saint Vincent then took control, forcing the Pioneers into several turnovers and converted many into fastbreak points on the offensive end. SVC went on a 16-0 run, taking an 18-2 edge at the 4:29 mark of the first quarter. During the Bearcats' surge, five different Bearcats made field goals, including five points fromHannah Carroll.
 
The Pioneers finally stopped the run and made their first field goal of the game with a three-point play at the 4:12 mark. William Paterson continued with the next six points for a quick 9-0 spurt, bringing them back within single digits of the Bearcats. Lucy Bujdos ended the Pioneers' run with an offensive rebound and tip-in. Saint Vincent held a 22-13 advantage after the opening 10 minutes of play.
 
SVC opened the second with five quick points to push the lead back into double figures. The Bearcats kept their lead their for the entire second quarter, eventually working the edge to more than 20 points, as freshmen Kayla Slovenec and Taylor Boring combined for five straight points to close the half.
 
Saint Vincent used a strong defensive effort in the first half, limiting WP to just 16.7 percent from the field (5-30). The Bearcats forced the Pioneers into 15 turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
 
The Bearcats maintained a sizeable lead for the entire third quarter and went into the fourth with a 66-46 advantage.
 
The Bearcats continued to pour it on in the fourth, eventually taking their largest lead of the contest at 30 points (82-52) with 3:16 to play.
 
Jasmine Weems poured in a team-high 17 points, while senior guard Mara Benvenuti chipped in 11 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists in the contest. Sophomore guard Maria Morgan added 10 points off the bench, including a pair of three-pointers. Bujdos added eight rebounds, tying Benvenuti for the team-high.
 
Saint Vincent held a slight 52-46 edge in rebounding. The Bearcats converted 43.2 percent from the field, including eight made three-pointers. The Bearcats forced the Pioneers into 20 turnovers and kept WPU scoreless behind the three-point line (0-12).
 
Saint Vincent moves to 1-1 on the season, while William Paterson drops to 1-1.