LEXINGTON, Va. — Behind a strong effort from Carly Mulvaney and high-level production off the bench, the Catholic University women's basketball team downed Penn St.-Behrend, 71-55, to earn its first NCAA Tournament win since 2012-13.

The Cardinals started slow but responded emphatically and never looked back. No. 11 Catholic found themselves in a 13-4 hole after five minutes of play following a hot start from the Lions. However, after the first-quarter media timeout, the Cardinals roared back with a 16-0 run to power themselves into command. Alexa Kenah had an immediate impact off the bench with three baskets during the big run.

Catholic rode that momentum into the second quarter, outscoring Behrend 19-11 in the second frame to take a 13-point advantage to the halftime locker room. Mulvaney had a monster first half with 14 points and four rebounds while Kerry Flaherty, who always has the potential to get hot from deep, knocked down 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.

The Cardinals were also able to hold Behrend's dynamic duo of Morgan Atavilla and Rachel Majewski in check. Both Lions average over 18 points per game on the season and were held to seven and six points respectively in the first half, on a combined 5-of-21 shooting.

It was more of the same in the second half as the Lions were no match for the Cardinal defense. Behrend made multiple short runs in an attempt to cut the lead but the Cardinal margin remained at 10-15 for the entirety of the half.

Catholic held Behrend to just 33.8 percent shooting in the contest and exhibited brilliant perimeter defense to the tune of just 2-13 from range. Sarah White had four steals, pushing her season total to 88 and moving her within two of second place on Catholic's all-time single-season steals list. White filled the stat sheet, leading the Cardinals in rebounds with 10 boards and pitching in with four assists as well.

The theme from the first half continued as Matt Donohue's team was able to hold Atavilla and Majewski in check during the second half as well. Atavilla dropped 22 and Majewski pitched in with 12 but Catholic stymied the impressive pair to the tune of a combined 12-for-42 and just 1-of-11 from deep.

The Cardinals were nothing short of dominant on the glass, with all seven players that featured for more than five minutes grabbing five or more boards. Catholic outrebounded Behrend 57-33, with that 25-rebound advantage coming entirely on the offensive end. Keegan Douglas grabbed five offensive boards while each of the seven aforementioned players pulled down at least two offensive rebounds. The 57 team rebounds marks a new Catholic NCAA Tournament record while the Cardinals also handed out 19 assists as a team, another NCAA Tournament best.

Mulvaney finished the game with 22 to lead the Cardinals in scoring while Kaleigh Beirne joined Kenah with massive contributions off the bench. The senior delivered 13 points and eight rebounds in 17 minutes of action with Kenah finished with eight points and eight rebounds. Kenah's plus-minus rating was the highest of any player as Catholic outscored Behrend by 20 when the sophomore was on the floor. The Cardinal bench bettered that of Behrend's by a significant margin of 21-3.

The win marks Catholic's second-ever NCAA Tournament win and first in over a decade, dating back to an eight-point victory over Cabrini in 2012-13. With a win tomorrow, Catholic will match the 2012-13 team with a program-record 27 wins.

The Cardinals will face the winner of the second game in the Lexington pod, Vassar and hosts No. 19 Washington & Lee, for a spot in the Sweet Sixteen. Tip-off in Saturday's second-round match-up is set for 7:15 p.m.