WASHINGTON, Pa. (Nov. 28) – Paige Montrosematched a career high with 16 points and Maria Morgan drained five of six three-point attempts to lead the Saint Vincent women's basketball team to a 69-58 win over Washington and Jefferson College in the Presidents' Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
The win was the first road win over W&J for the Bearcats since the 2013-14 season, snapping a streak of four straight defeats at the Henry Memorial Center.
Saint Vincent opened the game strong on both ends, building a 15-9 advantage after 10 minutes of play. After a layup and free throw by Alie Seto gave W&J an 8-7 advantage with 5:46 left in the first quarter, SVC closed the quarter with an 8-1 run. Morgan and Taylor Boring both drained a three pointer during the run.
In the second quarter, the Bearcats pushed their lead into double figures when Madison Kollar converted a layup to make it 28-17 at the 2:13 mark. A free throw by Montrose shortly thereafter gave Saint Vincent its largest lead of the first half (29-17). A three-point play late in the half by Seto made the score 29-20, helping W&J close the deficit back into single digits at the break.
Montrose played a key role in helping the Bearcats build the first half lead, tallying 10 points and four rebounds to lead the Green and Gold. Defense ruled the first half, as both teams converted less than 35 percent of their field goal attempts. Meanwhile, the Presidents committed 12 turnovers over the first 20 minutes.
A made three-pointer by Morgan gave the Bearcats a 36-22 advantage at the 7:43 mark of the third quarter. From there, W&J cooled off the Bearcats offense and slowly worked themselves back into the game during the remainder of the quarter.
The home team used a 14-3 run to cut the Bearcat lead just a single possession, at 39-36 with 1:40 showing on the third quarter clock. Hannah Johnston slipped behind the Bearcat defense and converted a layup, forcing Saint Vincent to use a timeout.
A jumper by Montrose pushed the Saint Vincent lead back to five (41-36) with 51 seconds left in the third. However, a layup and free throw by Lauren Gilbert brought the Presidents to within two points (43-41) with six seconds left in the third.
It appeared W&J would hold the momentum to start the fourth. However, Jenna Lafko raced the other way and found Morgan in the corner, who launched a three to beat the buzzer, giving SVC a 46-41 edge heading into the final 10 minutes.
In the fourth, W&J would close deficit to a single possession once more, converting a layup with 3:32 to play to make the score 57-54. However, that was as close as the home team could get. Morgan knocked down her fifth three of the game on the next possession. SVC would then nine of the final free throws to salt the victory away.
Montrose (16), Morgan (15) and Lafko (14) all finished in double figures. Meanwhile, Montrose and Kayla Slovenec pulled down six rebounds each. Seto led W&J with a game-high 18 points, while SVC limited Danielle Parker to nine points.
The win moves Saint Vincent to 4-2 overall while W&J drops to 2-5 for the season.
Saint Vincent travels to Grove City for another league contest on Saturday, Dec. 1. Tip off is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the College Arena in Mercer County.