LATROBE, Pa (Nov. 30) – An all-around team effort helped the Saint Vincent women's basketball team win their Presidents' Athletic Conference opener at home with a 76-49 victory at the Carey Center.

The Chatham Cougars were greeted by a swarming defense from the Bearcats as their offense was held scoreless in the opening six-plus minutes. The Bearcats tallied the first 10 points of the game sparked by some strong shooting from the free throw line by senior guards Maura Benvenuti and Susie Ellis.

Chatham's first point came at the 3:28 mark as they split their first two foul shots. Back-to-back outside shots from the Cougars cut the Bearcat lead to 13-7 with less than a minute remaining in the first quarter. However, that would be the closest the Cougars came to the Bearcats the remainder of the game.

The second quarter was much the same for both sides of the contest as the Bearcats forced the Cougar offense into 13 total turnovers in the first half while keeping them under 20% shooting from the field and holding them to only 15 points through 20 minutes.  There was not a shortage of hustle plays from the Bearcats as they managed to dominate the boards with a 28-12 edge. Senior guard Jasmine Weems went on a little run of her own scoring seven straight points and contributing to a 13-point run near the end of the second quarter.

The second half was a more evenly scoring affair between both sides, yet the deficit was too large for the Cougars to overcome. Weems capped her night scoring the last of her 15 points in the third quarter which increased the Bearcat lead to 30. Adding to the scoring mix was the Bearcat bench, who collectively poured in an impressive 34 of their 76 points.

It was a strong performance from the Bearcat backcourt as Weems was the leading scorer with 15 and Benvenuti finished with her third career double-double, tallying 11 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Saint Vincent had three players hit double figures in scoring: Weems with 15 followed by Benvenuti with 11 and sophomore forward Lucy Bujdos putting up 10 in just 14 minutes off the bench. Benvenuti led both teams in rebounds with 10 while Bujdos added 9 and Babette Sanmartin finished with 8 points and 8 rebounds.

Chatham had two players in double digits: Natalie Knab with 15 as well followed by Megan Sieg, who tallied 10. Three of their players finished with a team high of five rebounds each.

As a team, Saint Vincent shot 40.6 percent from the field, making 26 of 64 attempts. SVC performed very well from the free throw line, making 19 of 24 attempts (79.2 percent). The Bearcats' defense held Chatham to 27.1 percent from the field while forcing the Cougars into 23 turnovers. Saint Vincent dominated the glass, doubling up Chatham on the boards at a 56-28 clip. 

Following their first home win and PAC conference victory, the Bearcats are 3-2 overall and 1-0 in the PAC as they get ready to host Washington & Jefferson on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 4pm in the Carey Center. With the loss, the Chatham Cougars fall to 3-2 overall and 0-1 in the PAC.