The SVC women's basketball team earned a 70-57 victory on the road over Grove City College, with four players scoring in double figures.
Susie Ellis led the way with 17 points, but had plenty of help from Maria Morgan (15), Jasmine Weems (11) and Katie Ryan (10).
Morgan had the hot hand to start the game for the Bearcats, connecting twice in the opening minutes to help SVC to a 6-4 early lead. After the Wolverines tied the game at 6-6, Weems took control of the offense, scoring 7 points during a 9-0 Saint Vincent run that made the score 15-6.
Later in the first, Ryan added six quick points as the team took a 23-10 lead after one quarter.
Both teams started slowly in the second quarter, with Grove City outscoring the Bearcats 4-0 over the first four minutes of the quarter. A jumper by Morgan and a three by Ellis brought the offense back to life in a hurry, and Ellis later added another three to extend the lead to twelve (33-21) with just over two minutes left in the half.
Paige Montrose and Morgan each hit shots in the closing minutes of the half, as the Bearcats took a 37-24 lead into the break.
The third quarter was also played evenly, with each team tallying 14 points. Sanmartin and Morgan scored early in the period, while a pair of freshman ended the quarter with points. First, it was Taylor Boring hitting a three from the top of the key near the 2-minute mark, then Kayla Slovenec grabbed a defensive rebound and drove the length of the court, right through the center of the paint untouched to increase the lead to 51-36. The Wolverines scored the final points of the quarter to make it 51-38 after three periods.
Grove City mounted a rally to start the fourth, cutting the gap to just eight, 53-45, at the 6:50 mark. Ellis then scored on back-to-back possessions, hitting a runner in the lane followed by a three. After a free throw by Ryan, Ellis hit another bucket off a Morgan assist, then stole the ball on the ensuing possession and scored on the breakaway to run the lead to 63-45, putting the game out of reach.
Morgan had a strong game, grabbing six rebounds and posting 7 assists against no turnovers in addition to her 15 points. Sanmartin also had six caroms on the afternoon. Both Sanmartin and Ryan had three steals each as the Bearcat defense forced 19 turnovers while the offense only turned the ball over 8 times.
SVC is now 4-2 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference, 7-6 overall. Grove City falls to 2-4 in the conference, 6-7 overall.
The Bearcats return to action on Wednesday (January 11), traveling to Greenville to face Thiel College.