PITTSBURGH, Pa. (Dec. 5) – Mara Benvenuti scored a game-high 20 points as the Saint Vincent women's basketball team claimed an 86-69 non-conference road victory over La Roche in Pittsburgh.
 
The win helped SVC complete a rare non-conference season series sweep of La Roche, as the Bearcats also defeated La Roche 72-64 at the Carey Center back on Nov. 26.
 
Saint Vincent started the game strong, especially on the defensive end. A three-point play the old fashioned way by sophomore Paige Montrose gave the Bearcats an early lead. After a basket by La Roche made it 3-2, SVC used an 8-0 run to make it 11-2.
 
Benvenuti started the run with a layup then sophomore Taylor Boring followed with a layup and free throw. Benvenuti then capped the spurt with a three-point play of her own.
 
Senior Kiara Arnold closed the first quarter with back-to-back layups to give SVC a 17-6 lead after 10 minutes.
 
La Roche opened the second quarter with five straight points to close their deficit to 17-11 at the 8:39 mark. Saint Vincent responded with seven straight points, which included a three-pointer from freshman Carlee Kilgus, to push the lead back into double figures at 24-11.
 
With the score at 26-16, Kilgus buried another three-pointer to make it 29-16 with 4:48 left in the half. La Roche cut the deficit into single digits with a 5-0 run to make it 29-21. However, SVC scored the final six points of the half, including a pair of free throws by Benvenuti, to take a 35-21 advantage into halftime.
 
Saint Vincent used stingy first half defense to build the lead. The Bearcats limited the Redhawks to just five made field goals and forced 15 turnovers in the first half.
 
Offensively, Benvenuti led SVC with nine points, while Kilgus added eight points off the bench.
 
The late first half run extended to a 10-0 run with four points from Kilgus to start the second half. Those points pushed the SVC advantage to 38-21 at the 8:43 mark.
 
Saint Vincent maintained a double-digit lead for the entire third quarter, leading by as many as 18 points (56-38) after a free throw by freshman Jenna Lafko at the 1:51 mark.
 
Back-to-back early threes in the early stages of the fourth quarter cut the Bearcats' lead to 60-50. However, SVC responded with a 7-2 run, capped by a three-point play by Montrose to make it 67-52 with 5:44 to play.
 
A little later back-to-back baskets would pull La Roche within 10 again. However, Kayla Slovenec would drain a three to make it 74-61 with just 3:20 to play.
 
Saint Vincent would seal the deal down the stretch, to take the game by an 86-69 score.
 
Aside from Benvenuti's strong night, Kilgus tacked on a career-best 15 points. Arnold added 10 points to finish in double figures. Junior Maria Morgan finished with a career-high 11 assists, while Babette Sanmartin added pulled down rebounds in the victory.
 
SVC outrebounded La Roche 41-30 margin and forced the Redhawks to commit 23 turnovers.
 
The win moves SVC to 4-3 overall, while La Roche drops to 2-5 for the season.
 
The Bearcats will return to Pittsburgh for a non-conference matchup with Carnegie Mellon University on Thursday, Dec. 7. Tip-off with the Tartans is set for 6 p.m.