Mara Benvenuti recorded her 1,000th career point as the Saint Vincent women's basketball team outlasted Bethany by a 54-46 score in Presidents' Athletic Conference play in West Virginia.
 
Benvenuti finished with a game-high 16 points to become the 27th player in Saint Vincent women's basketball history to eclipse the 1,000 point mark. Benvenuti is the first Bearcat to join the 1,000 point club since Taylor Mathers did so during the 2014-15 season.
 
Bethany opened the game with a jumper from Kelsea Daughtery to take its first and only lead of the game. SVC quickly countered with three-pointers on consecutive possessions, the first by Maria Morgan and then one from Kayla Slovenec.
 
Four straight points by Bethany tied the game at 6-6 with 5:56 to play in the first quarter. However, the Bearcats would outscore the Bison by a 9-0 margin for the remainder of the opening quarter. Babette Sanmartin contributed four of those points during the run before Taylor Boring hit the final field goal of the first quarter with 30 seconds to play, giving SVC a 15-6 edge after 10 minutes.
 
Daugherty started the second quarter the same as the first, converting a jump shot to bring the Bison back with seven points (15-8). The Bearcats would rattle off the next seven points to push the lead to 22-8 with 4:38 left in the half. Jenna Lafko played a key role in the run with five points before Benvenuti gathered an offensive rebound and layup to surpass the 1,000 point mark.
 
Three more points from Benvenuti and a jumper from Morgan helped SVC take a 27-9 advantage with 2:21 to play in the half. The 18-point lead was the largest lead of the first half. The Bison would tally a layup to close the first half score at 27-11.
 
Seven different Bearcats scored in the first half with no player tallying more than five points. Saint Vincent forced the Bison to commit 11 turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
 
Bethany opened the third quarter with a 7-2 run to close the deficit within 11 points (29-18). Saint Vincent answered with five straight points, scoring on a three-pointer from Carlee Kilgus and a fast break layup from Paige Montrose, pushing the lead to 34-18 at the 5:43 mark.
 
The Bison refused to go away, closing the deficit to 36-26 after an 8-2 run, capped by a pair of free throws. Benvenuti would drain a three off a pass from Sanmartin but the Bison beat the third quarter buzzer with a trey of their own to make the score 39-29.
 
Back-to-back three pointers by Bethany cut the SVC lead to 41-35 with 8:28 remaining in the fourth. That was as close as the Bison would get down the stretch. Benvenuti tallied six of the final 13 points for the Bearcats in the victory.
 
Benvenuti also led the Bearcats with seven rebounds. Kilgus and Morgan each added eight points, while Sanmartin recorded a career-high five assists. Daugherty paced the Bison with 12 points and 14 rebounds.
 
Saint Vincent improved to 4-1 in PAC play and 7-5 overall. Bethany dropped to 2-3 in conference play and 5-7 overall.
 
Saint Vincent hosts Grove City for another PAC contest on Saturday, Jan. 6. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. The contest will be the first home game for the Bearcats since Dec. 2.