TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org)-- Saint Vincent College rallied from a halftime deficit to pull out a win at home and Chatham University used a stifling defensive effort to knock off the top seed, as the Bearcats and Cougars won their Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Women's Basketball Tournament semifinals to advance to Saturday's Championship game.
Fourth-seeded Chatham (19-7) held #1 seed and 24th-ranked Washington & Jefferson College (24-3) without a three-point field goal and a season-low in points in a 57-40 Cougar upset win. The win was Chatham's first over the Presidents since Jan., 2019, snapping a six-game W&J winning streak in the series. It also sends the Cougars and fifth-year head coach David Saur to their first PAC Tournament Championship game in program history.
Second-seeded Saint Vincent College (21-4) trailed upstart #6 Westminster College (16-11) by six points at halftime, but rallied for a 52-45 victory. The win sends the Bearcats to their sixth PAC Tournament Championship game in head coach Jimmy Petruska's 13th season at the helm of the program and Saint Vincent will be in pursuit of its third conference crown in Petruska's tenure.
The PAC Championship game will be played Saturday, Feb. 25th at the Robert S. Carey Center on Saint Vincent's campus in Latrobe, Pa. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m.
Admission is $5 for adults and $2 for students. PAC and institutional passes are not accepted at PAC Championship events. Students from PAC host institutions will be admitted for free with a valid college ID.
The winner of Saturday's PAC’s Championship game will receive the league's automatic qualifying bid to this year's Division III Championship Tournament. Forty-four conferences have been granted automatic qualification to this year's 64-team championship. The selected Division III Championship teams as well as the first and second round site selections will be announced Monday, February 27. First and second round games are scheduled for Friday-Saturday, March 3-4.
Wednesday, February 22 (Semifinal Round 2)
No. 6 Westminster at No. 2 Saint Vincent
Final: Saint Vincent 52, Westminster 45
Robert S. Carey Center - Latrobe, Pa.
To earn the chance to play for their third PAC title in the last five years, Saint Vincent used a stout defensive effort in the second half to rally for a hard-fought 52-45 win over visiting Westminster Wednesday ... A low-scoring first quarter saw the Bearcats score the final five points, with four coming from senior Madison Weber (Grampian, Pa. | Curwensville), to take an 11-8 lead ... The second quarter was a different story, as Westminster opened the period with six straight points from senior Natalie Murrio (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Brentwood) and later in the frame, Murrio scored nine points in a 10-0 Titan run that gave them a 26-17 lead with 1:39 left in the quarter ... The Bearcats managed to trim some off that before intermission, as two baskets by senior Ella Marconi (Kane, Pa. | Kane Area) made it a 26-21 Westminster advantage at the break ...Saint Vincent came out hot to start the second half, ripping off 11 consecutive points, with seven coming from Marconi, to retake the lead at 32-26 and the home team would carry a 35-32 advantage into the fourth quarter ... The final period would see two lead changes and three ties as the teams came down the stretch ... With the game tied at 43, Saint Vincent sophomore Emily Thompson (Erie, Pa. | Mercyhurst Prep) hit two free throws and another Marconi basket gave the Bearcats the lead for good at 47-43 with 1:55 to play ... The Titans hit two foul shots to get within a bucket, but Saint Vincent held Westminster scoreless over the final 1:37 while scoring the final five points of the game to close out the win and advance to Saturday's title tilt ... After falling behind at halftime, Saint Vincent's defense stepped up big in the second half, limiting the Titans to 21 percent shooting (6-29) ... Marconi turned in a huge performance with 22 points and 11 rebounds in the victory, while junior Emily Cavacini (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Shaler) hit for 11 points and Weber finished the night with seven points, 13 boards and five assists ... Westminster fell despite a great game from Murrio, who scored a game-high 26 points, and senior Lindsay Bell (Youngstown, Ohio | Ursuline) posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Wednesday, February 22 (Semifinal Round 1)
No. 4 Chatham at No. 1 W&J
Final: Chatham 57, W&J 40
Salvitti Family Gymnasium-Washington, Pa.
This semifinal was decided from the arc, as Chatham sank 12 three-pointers and W&J was 0-for-23 from the three-point line, as the Cougars pulled off the 57-40 upset to advance to their first PAC Championship game in program history ... The Presidents led by a basket midway through the first quarter before the Cougars scored the final seven points, sparked by a pair of threes from sophomore Emily Durkee (Elkridge, Md. | Howard), to take a 13-8 lead after one period ... Chatham hit a three to open the second quarter, but W&J rolled off eight straight points, with two buckets coming from sophomore Meghan Dryburgh (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Baldwin), to draw even at 16-16 ... The Cougars seized control before halftime, closing the half with a 13-4 surge, fueled by a pair of threes from sophomore Ashlie Loudon (Beallsville, Ohio | Beallsville) and one from freshman Hannah Chenault (East Berlin, Pa. | Bermudian Springs), to take a 29-20 lead into halftime ... W&J came out of the locker room to score four quick points to get within 29-24, but that was the closest they would be the rest of the game ... An 11-2 Cougar run right after that pushed the lead to 40-26 and Chatham continued to pull away in the fourth quarter, as their lead grew as large as 23 before settling for the 57-40 final ... Chatham's outside shooting was consistent through the evening, as they hit six treys in each half, while W&J, trying to mount a comeback, would go 0-for-10 in the fourth quarter ... In addition to holding W&J without a three-point make, Chatham's defense also forced 22 President turnovers, tied for the most by W&J in a game this season ... Chatham's scoring was led by Chenault with 15 points, while Loudon scored 14, grabbed a team-high seven boards and made five steals and Durkee knocked down four three-pointers for 12 points ... For W&J, Dryburgh recorded her 17th double-double of the year with 14 points and 10 rebounds while adding six assists ... Also notching double figures was junior Sarah Berardelli (Ambridge, Pa. | North Catholic) with a dozen markers and sophomore Adalynn Cherry (Altoona, Pa. | Altoona Area) scored 10 for the Presidents.
Monday, February 20 (Quarterfinal Round 4)
No. 5 Allegheny at No. 4 Chatham
Final: Chatham 74, Allegheny 56
Athletics and Fitness Center-Pittsburgh, Pa.
Chatham cashed in 12 three-pointers for the game, including eight in the first half, as the Cougars built a large halftime lead over Allegheny and go on for the win ... It was the 18th victory of the year for Chatham to set a new program single-season record ... The home team never trailed in the game, using a pair of threes from sophomore Ashlie Loudon (Beallsville, Ohio | Beallsville) to spark a 10-2 run to open the game and give the Cougars a 23-15 lead after one quarter ... Loudon made five three-pointers in the opening half and accounted for half of Chatham's points with 21, as the Cougars led 42-28 at the break ... The Gators made a push in the third quarter, getting the deficit into single digits twice and they only trailed by 10 at 54-44 going into the fourth quarter ... Allegheny was unable to get closer than that, as Chatham opened the final period with an 11-2 run and the Cougars' lead was never less than 16 the rest of the way... Loudon finished the night with 28 points on 11-of-14 shooting, while freshman Hannah Chenault (East Berlin, Pa. | Bermudian Springs) knocked down four treys and finished with 16 and freshman Alyssa Laukus (Irwin, Pa. | Norwin) posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards ... Allegheny was led by sophomore Emily Lauer (Knox, Pa. | Keystone) with 16 points, seven rebounds and six steals ... Sophomore Sofia Genareo (Lakewood, N.Y. | Southwestern Central) recorded a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double and senior Alexis Caldwell (Whitefish Bay, Wis. | Whitefish Bay) also scored 14.
Monday, February 20 (Quarterfinal Round 3)
No. 6 Westminster at No. 3 Grove City
Final: Westminster 62, Grove City 58
Grove City College Arena-Grove City, Pa.
In the closest game of the night, Grove City and Westminster were tied at 11 after the first quarter, even at 28-28 going into halftime and all square at 46-46 heading into the final period ... The teams were tied again at 53-53 with 4:20 left when Titan sophmore Emily Hess (Edinboro, Pa. | General McLane) made a free throw to break the tie, blocked a shot on the defensive end and then scored a lay-up to put the visitors ahead 56-53 ... That was followed by lay-ups from freshman Gracie Schill (Rootstown, Ohio | Archbishop Hoban) and senior Lindsay Bell (Youngstown, Ohio | Ursuline) and Westminster had a 60-53 margin with 2:27 left ... Grove City would score twice in the closing minutes but senior Natalie Murrio (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Brentwood) hit two free throws, including one with five seconds left, to secure the Westminster win, which sent the Titans to the PAC semifinals for the fourth consecutive year ... Senior Camden Hergenrother (Salem, Ohio | Cardinal Mooney) led all scorers with 22 points and added eight rebounds and three assists, while junior Mariah Vincent (Franklin, Pa. | Kennedy Catholic) added 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from three-point range ... Westminster was led on the glass by junior Katie Fitzpaatrick (Cumberland Center, Maine | Greely) with 10 boards and Murrio had nine points and eight assists ... For Grove City, senior Megan Kallock (Greensburg, Pa. | Greensburg Salem) fired in 19 points and junior Katie Baller (Lone Tree, Colo. | Valor Christian) grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds.
Monday, February 20 (Quarterfinal Round 2)
No. 7 Bethany at No. 2 Saint Vincent
Final: Saint Vincent 56, Bethany 43
Robert S. Carey Center - Latrobe, Pa.
Saint Vincent defeated Bethany 47-42 and 47-38 in the regular season and defense ruled again in the first half of this game... The Bearcats made just 9-of-32 shots from the floor (28 percent) and Bethany connected on only 6-of-32 attempts (19 percent) in the opening 20 minutes, which saw Saint Vincent carry a 21-17 lead into halftime ... The third quarter was a different story for the home team, as Saint Vincent made 8-of-9 from the floor that period to outscore the Bison 20-7 and take a 41-24 lead into the final quarter ... Bethany had a surge early in the final quarter to try to rally, using a 10-2 spurt to trim the deficit to 45-34 with six minutes to play, but Saint Vincent responded with seven consecutive points to pull away and go on to the victory to return to the PAC semifinals ... Saint Vincent junior Emily Cavacini (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Shaler) led all scorers with 16 points and added a team-best four assists, while junior Lizzie Bender (Twinsburg, Ohio | Gilmour Academy) came off the bench to tally 13 points ... Also turning in a big effort was senior Ella Marconi (Kane, Pa. | Kane Area), who totaled eight points, a game-high 10 boards and six blocks to lead a Bercat team that blocked nine shots in the victory ... For the Bison, freshman Taylor Dusenberry (Dilliner, Pa. | Mapletown) hit for 14 points and junior Bella Skobel (Charleroi, Pa. | Charleroi) scored 11.
Monday, February 20 (Quarterfinal Round 1)
No. 8 Geneva at No. 1 W&J
Final: W&J 78, Geneva 58
Salvitti Family Gymnasium-Washington, Pa.
The #1 seed W&J raced out to a 23-8 lead after one quarter and cruised to their seventh consecutive win to move on to the semifinal round for an 11th straight season... W&J, who knocked down 13 three-pointers in the contest, had five players score in double figures in the game, led by sophomore Bryn Bezjak (Uniontown, Pa. | Albert Gallatin) and freshman Stellanie Loutsion (Canonsburg, Pa. | Canon-McMillan) with 15 each ... Sophomore Adalynn Cherry (Altoona, Pa. | Altoona Area) made three three-pointers, all in the first quarter to help ignite the Presidents' opening period, and finished with 11 ... Two others recorded double-doubles for W&J, including sophomore Megahn Dryburgh (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Baldwin), who totaled 10 points, 13 rebounds, four blocks, four assists and pair of steals, and freshman Alyssa Pollice (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Bishop Canevin), who had 10 points and 10 boards ... It was the 16th double-double of the year for Dryburgh and the first in Pollice's collegiate career ... Pacing Geneva in the game was junior Mia San Nicolas (Sinajana, Guam | Academy of Our Lady of Guam), who tallied 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocks, while sophomore Taylor Haring (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Eden Christian Academy) had 13 points, eight boards and matched San Nicolas with four assists.