The Saint Vincent women's basketball team posted a 79-39 victory over Thiel College on Senior Day in the Carey Center.
SVC marked the first points of the game as Hannah Carrollknocked down a baseline jumper giving the Bearcats an early lead. Thiel would respond with a pair of buckets on consecutive trips down the court to capture their first lead 4-2 at the 7:09 mark in the first quarter.
It was a strong defensive performance for the Bearcats through the first quarter. Following her made 3-pointer from the wing, Kayla Slovenec came down on the defensive end and tallied her second steal. Although the Bearcats managed to force Thiel into 8 total turnovers in the opening minutes, it proved to be no major advantage as offensive struggles limited SVC to a 10-7 lead going into the second.
After conceding the first four points to Thiel, a pair of free-throws made by Susie Ellis sparked a much needed run for the home team. Three jump shots made by Taylor Boring, Carroll, and Ellis increased SVC's lead 18-11 with 4:53 left in the half. Thiel ended the 8-point run with a shot from behind the arc to cut their deficit to 4 points with under four minutes remaining.
The offensive struggles dissipated for SVC as they finished out the last minutes of the half on an offensive tear. After both teams traded buckets, Jasmine Weems and Slovenec nailed a barrage of 3-pointers which contributed to a 16-6 run as the Bearcats went into the half up 34-20.
A made basket in the paint from Babette Sanmartin started the scoring in the second half and was followed by a Weems 3-pointer and a hard layup from Ellis, marking a 7-2 run and giving SVC a 41-22 advantage with 6:29 left in the third. Coming off the bench, Boring scored the next 9 points for the Bearcats which included an old fashioned 3-point play bookended by a pair of long balls from the wings to make it a 50-31 contest with 2:25 on the clock. SVC ended the third on top 53-33.
The fourth quarter was much of the same, as the Bearcats continued their tough defense and offensive outpouring. A couple of baskets from Ellis and Carroll concluded their nights as they and Weems received standing ovations on their senior night. The finishing touches came from a Madison Kollar 3-pointer as SVC ended their last regular season home game on a 26-6 run in route to a 79-39 victory.
The Bearcats had four players reach double figures on the score sheet. Carroll and Boring had team-highs with 11 points each, followed by Ellis and Kollar with 10 apiece. Weems poured in 9 points to go along with her team-high 4 assists. Meanwhile, Ellis led the team with 8 rebounds which was shadowed by Carroll's 7 and Weems' 6 boards.
Thiel's leading performers were Taylor Duchon with 19 points and 8 rebounds and Alivia Sidley who netted 7 points.
The win improves SVC to 15-8 overall and 12-4 in the PAC as they head on the road to play #4 Thomas More on Feb. 15 at 5:30 pm. The loss drops Thiel to 5-18 overall and 2-14 in the PAC.