Box Score

CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. (Feb. 25) – The Saint Vincent Bearcats raced out to a big early lead behind an outstanding shooting effort and eliminated the Waynesburg University women's basketball team from the 2011 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Women's Basketball Championship Tournament by the score of 70-53 on Friday.

The game was played at Thomas More College, which will host Saint Vincent tomorrow for the PAC championship. Thomas More, the number-one team in the country, beat Grove City in the other semifinal matchup.

The Bearcats put together one of the best shooting halves of any PAC team in recent memory. They shot 59 percent (16-of-27), but were shooting close to 70 percent earlier in the first period. After the first eight minutes of competition, Saint Vincent led 27-6 and increased that lead to as many as 22 before taking a 41-23 advantage into the locker room.

The Jackets battled back in the second half. After trailing by 25 early in the period, Waynesburg whittled the lead down to as few as 13 (64-51) with 3:46 remaining in the game. However, Saint Vincent ended the game on a 6-2 spurt to close out the victory.

Though it came in a losing effort, the Yellow Jackets got a superb effort from junior point guard Hannah Hunter. The Hopewell native piled up a game-high 24 points on eight-of-12 shooting and yanked down a team-best eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Jessi Drayer added 10 points and six rebounds, while senior forward Elisha Jones chipped in eight points and seven rebounds.

Surprisingly, the Jackets dominated Saint Vincent on the boards, out-rebounding the Bearcats 46-31, including a 19-to-nine advantage in offensive rebounds.

Though their hopes of a PAC title have ended, the Jackets will now wait to see if they receive a bid to the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) South Tournament. Check back in to waynesburgsports.com for details.