LATROBE, Pa. -- The second-seeded Washington & Jefferson College women's basketball team fell 65-61 to top-seeded Saint Vincent College in the Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship game Saturday evening at the Carey Center in Westmoreland County. 

Maria Lawhorne (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) fired in a game-high 17 points and grabbed six rebounds in the loss. Alie Seto (Allison, Pa./Brownsville) tallied 13 points, six rebounds and four steals. Hannah Johnston (East Freedom, Pa./Central) finished with 11 points and six rebounds. 

The Presidents (8-1) held an eight-point lead on three separate occasions in the fourth quarter but the Bearcats methodically trimmed away at the Presidents' advantage. A three-point basket by Johnston gave W&J a 55-47 advantage with just 4:12 remaining on the clock. However, six consecutive Bearcat points over the next minute cut their deficit to just one possession at 55-53. Consecutive free throws by Lawhorne made the score 59-55 with 2:10 remaining. 

Saint Vincent closed the game on a 10-2 run from there to claim the title. Six straight points, capped by a layup by Jenna Lafko, gave Saint Vincent a 61-59 lead with 1:18 to play. Seto converted a pair of free throws to even the score at 61 all with 56 seconds left. W&J got a stop on the ensuing possession and had a chance to take the lead. However, a turnover gave Saint Vincent the ball back and they converted a layup with just 14 seconds left. The Presidents turned the ball over twice more and did not record a field goal attempt in the final minute of action. 

Foul trouble loomed large for both teams late in the game, as the teams played through a foul-filled fourth quarter. Saint Vincent went to the line 19 times in the fourth quarter and converted 14 attempts. That was after only getting to the line seven times combined through the first 30 minutes. W&J was 9-of-10 at the charity stripe in the fourth quarter. Victoria Koeck (Sidman, Pa./Forest Hills) fouled out with 3:43 to play and Lawhorne was charged with her fifth foul at the 1:18 mark. 

W&J built a 17-10 lead after the first quarter but faced a 26-23 deficit at halftime. W&J outscored Saint Vincent by a 17-9 margin in the third to take a 40-35 lead into the fourth. 

Ella Marconi finished with 17 points to match the game high. Lafko had 15 points, eight steals, five rebounds and five assists. Saint Vincent (10-0) held a significant advantage in points off of turnovers (26-14), which included a 15-6 margin in the fourth quarter. 

The game marked the fifth consecutive season and seventh time in the past eight years that the two teams met in the PAC Tournament. 

The senior class of Lauren Gilbert (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin), Johnston, Lawhorne and Seto finished their collegiate careers with a 68-26 record. The quartet combined to score 3,314 points and advanced to the PAC Tournament Championship game four consecutive seasons.