Women's Basketball | 2/24/2026 11:55:00 PM
TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - The four teams from Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) South Division emerged from the conference tournament quarterfinal round with victories Tuesday night, including Saint Vincent College and Washington & Jefferson College winning at home, while Bethany College and Chatham University pulled out triumphs on the road.
The South's top seed Saint Vincent (20-6) trailed Westminster College by a point at halftime and SVC was pushed to the final minute before securing a 61-57 victory. The Bearcats will next host Bethany (17-9), the South's third seed, in Thursday semifinal in Latrobe after the Bison used a late surge to post a 65-55 win at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa.
W&J (20-6), seeded second in the South, scored the biggest win in the quarterfinals, cruising past Geneva College 80-55. The Presidents' semifinal opponent Thursday will be the South's fourth seed Chatham University (18-8), who outscored Grove City College by 10 points in the final quarter to secure a 57-50 triumph.
Both semifinal match-ups will be broadcast by the PAC Sports Network. The W&J/Chatham tilt will tip off at 6 pm, while Saint Vincent and Bethany will start at 7 pm. Admission to all PAC Championship Tournament matches is $5 for adults and $2 for students, with students at PAC host institutions admitted for free with valid identification.
PAC Quarterfinal Highlights
#1S Saint Vincent 61, #4N Westminster 57
- After trailing 18-16 following the first quarter, Westminster shot 58 percent in the second quarter to take a 32-31 lead over the Bearcats at halftime.
- Saint Vincent regained the lead by a point going into the fourth quarter and used a 12-3 run to take a 58-49 lead with four minutes remaining.
- The Titans rallied again, scoring eight straight and when sophomore guard/forward Katie Grexa hit a jumper with 1:15 to play, Westminster was within a point at 58-57.
- The Bearcats finally managed to put the game away by getting two defensive stops and making 3-of-4 from the charity stripe in the final 11 seconds for the final 61-57 margin.
- Saint Vincent finished the game with just six turnovers, compared to 12 for Westminster, and outscored the Titans in the paint, 28-16.
- Pacing the Bearcats was sophomore forward Emmerson Peffer, who stepped up with a 17-point, 13-rebound double-double while also adding in three steals.
- Also reaching double digits in points was senior forward Camdon Bashor and junior guard Danielle Pontius with 10 points apiece.
- For Westminster (9-17), Grexa had a team-high 12 points and tied for the team lead with six boards, while junior forward Grace Cano had 11 points off the bench.
#3S Bethany 65, #2N Allegheny 55
- Bethany took a 14-9 lead after the opening quarter and still maintained a five-point lead at 46-41 going into the fourth quarter.
- Allegheny rolled back in front with a quick 8-0 burst in the first two minutes of the final quarter to take a 49-46 lead.
- The Bison responded with 10 consecutive points to regain the lead for good and Bethany outscored the Gators 19-6 through the final seven minutes to wrap up the win.
- Although Bethany shot just 36 percent from the field (22-62), Allegheny converted just 22-of-75 shot attempts (29 percent).
- The difference in the game was the Bison making five three-pointers compared to the Gators' two and Bethany holding a 16-9 advantage in made free throws.
- Bethany graduate student guard Lindsey Garrison scored a team-high 19 points, while sophomore guard Ella Simpson scored 13 and freshman guard Lindsey Best posted 12 points and nine rebounds.
- Turning in a big effort on both ends of the floor was Bethany junior forward Kate Botti, who registered a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds as well as five blocks.
- For the Gators (13-13), sophomore guard Isabella Antonacci led all scorers with 20 points, senior forward Sarah Santicola had 15 points and 13 boards and sophomore Eyra Co chipped in with 11 points.
#2S W&J 80, #3N Geneva 55
- W&J seized control early in this one, shooting 56 percent through the first three quarters to build a 21-point lead and coast to the win.
- The Presidents finished the game shooting 48 percent (25-52) while holding Geneva to just 29 percent shooting from the field (19-66) and 17 percent (4-24) from the arc.
- W&J also won the battle on the boards, outrebounding the Golden Tornadoes, 47-35.
- It was a big night for W&J's top scorers, beginning with senior guard Stellanie Loutsion, who turned in a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds.
- Graduate student guard Riley DeRubbo also had 20 points for the game, while junior forward Katie Kovlachik dropped in 18 points and blocked three shots.
- The efforts for Geneva (10-16) were led by senior guard Emily Garvin with 19 points and four steals and junior guard Aizlyn Thompson connected on four three-pointers to tally 12 points.
#4S Chatham 57, #1N Grove City 50
- The North's top seed Grove City cashed in four three-pointers in the second quarter to take a 24-20 lead at the halftime and maintained a slim 37-34 lead with one period to play.
- Chatham shook off a cold shooting performance to that point to knock down 8-of-14 attempts in the fourth quarter and limit the Wolverines to just 3-of-10 from the field in the last period.
- With the game tied at 42 with five minutes left, the Cougars gradually pulled away with a 10-3 surge and didn't allow the lead to get below four points the rest of the night.
- The Chatham defense forced 22 turnovers in the game and limited Grove City to 27 percent shooting (17-63).
- The Cougars were led by senior forward Madison Nereu with 16 points, eight rebounds and six steals.
- Recording double-doubles in the victory as well were senior guard Hannah Chenault (13 points/10 rebounds) and senior forward Alyssa Laukus (12 points/10 rebounds).
- Two players for Grove City (17-9) notched double-digit points in junior guard Bethany Thompson with 12 and senior center Meredith Sherrerd with 11.
Semifinal Previews
- This will be the third meeting of the season between Saint Vincent and Bethany, with the teams splitting their regular season match-ups.
- Saint Vincent won the first meeting by a 62-57 count in West Virginia on Dec. 1 in the PAC opener for both sides, with Makenna Maier firing in 23 points in the win.
- Bethany won the rematch in Latrobe by a 64-57 score behind 16 points from Best and 15 from Garrison.
- This is also the third W&J/Chatham match-up this year, with the Presidents winning the first two.
- These teams also played in the first PAC game of the season on Dec. 3, which was a 61-52 W&J win on their home floor. Kovalchick scored a game-high 22 in the victory.
- The second match-up was a 64-52 victory by the Presidents on Jan. 28th, a game highlighted by 17 points from DeRubbo.
- This is also a rematch of the 2025 PAC Tournament Championship game, which W&J won, 59-50.