GREENVILLE, Pa. (Jan. 11) – The Saint Vincent women's basketball team scored the final 26 points of the game to claim a 75-40 victory over Thiel in Presidents' Athletic Conference play.
 
Jasmine Weems led the way for the Bearcats, putting together a near triple-double performance. Weems totaled 11 points, a career-high 10 assists and 8 rebounds in the victory. Leading 49-40 with 9:05 to play, SVC used a 26-0 run to close the game. 
 
The teams traded three-pointers to open the scoring, as sophomore guard Maria Morgan knocking down the Bearcats first field goal of the contest.
 
Thiel would then use an offensive rebound and a three pointer to take an early 8-3 advantage over the Bearcats. Weems would counter back with a three-pointer of her own to cut the deficit to 8-6 with 6:30 left in the opening quarter.
 
The Tomcats held a 12-8 advantage with 2:29 left in the first but SVC closed with five straight points to take a 13-12 after 10 minutes. Taylor Boring connected on a three-pointer before Katie Ryan was successful on a fastbreak layup to close out the first quarter scoring.
 
The second quarter belonged to the Bearcats, who opened the quarter on a 20-5 run to take a 33-17 advantage with 4:40 left. Thiel scored five straight points to stop the run but the Bearcats led by double digits for the rest of the half.
 
Weems led Saint Vincent with 11 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in the first half. Strong bench play from Ryan, Paige Montrose and Bri Van Volkenburg sparked the run for the Bearcats in the second. The trio combined to score 14 points and six rebounds off the bench in the first half.
 
SVC used a 7-2 run to start the third quarter to take its largest lead of the game at 18 (44-26). Capping the run was Morgan, who scored on a fastbreak layup off a pass from Carroll.
 
Both teams were relatively quiet the remainder of the quarter, as Thiel outscored SVC by a 10-5 margin over the final seven plus minutes, helping cut the Tomcats cut the deficit to 49-36.
 
Four straight points for Thiel allowed the hosts to cut the Bearcats lead back into single digits for the first time in a long time, at 49-40 early in the fourth quarter.
 
However, SVC quickly answered with a run of its own, closing the game on a 26-0 run over the final nine plus minutes. After Morgan hit back-to-back layups, Ellis drained back-to-back threes on the right win to push the lead to 62-40 and effectively end any hope for a Thiel comeback. Morgan then added a three-pointer to continue the run and help eventually finish off the victory.
 
A total of 12 Bearcats tallied points in the victory. Morgan led the way with a game-high 14 points and Ellis added eight points and six rebounds. Montrose added seven points and four rebounds, while Van Volkenburg chipped in six points off the bench. The Bearcats' bench outscored the Tomcats' bench by a 35-2 margin.
 
Saint Vincent shot 42.5 percent from the field, including converting nine three-pointers. The Bearcats' defense forced 30 turnovers in the victory, as nine different SVC players registered a steal defensively.
 
The win improves Saint Vincent to 8-6 overall and 5-2 in league play. Thiel drops to 4-9 overall and 1-6 in PAC action.
 
The Bearcats will look for a third straight PAC victory when they host Westminster College on Saturday, January 14 at the Carey Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.