The Lady Bearcats were unable to topple undefeated Thomas More, falling 62-50 to the visiting Saints.

Saint Vincent trailed by single digits throughout much of the second half, but Thomas More, ranked third nationally by the USA Today and ESPN, was able to hold off Saint Vincent and win its 16th straight contest to open the season.

SVC's Janelle Reed led all scorers with 13 points, while Laura Klimchock added 11.  Teammate Caryn Glassbrenner grabbed nine rebounds in the loss.

After Thomas More scored the first four points of the game, the Lady Bearcats answered right back, scoring seven tallies in a three minute span to go up 7-6 on an Ashley Benzio basket.

The Saints responded in a big way, using a long 14-0 run to go up 25-11 with six minutes left until intermission.  Saint Vincent then chipped away at the TMC lead, and took a 32-20 deficit into halftime, with Klimchock scoring five points over the final four minutes of the frame.

Thomas More scored two quick baskets to open the second half, but baskets on consecutive trips by Klimchock, Ashley Campbell, Glassbrenner, and Lauren Reilly brought the Lady Bearcats to within seven, 35-28, with 14 minutes left to play.

The Saints again pushed their lead up to 14, 43-29, but the Lady Bearcats went on a 9-2 run with buckets from Kathy Bianco and Gabbie Kassis sandwiched between a pair of jumpers from Maria Baroffio to make the score 45-38 in favor of Thomas More with 8:40 left in regulation.

After Thomas More's Alex Gee hit a pair of treys in a one-minute span to give the Saints a 52-41 lead at the six-minute mark, Klimchock scored to once again bring the hosts to within single digits.

It was as close as the Lady Bearcats would get, however, as they essentially traded baskets with the Saints over the final five minutes.  The Lady Bearcats were also hampered by foul trouble, as they committed their seventh team foul just nine minutes into the second half, and the Saints took advantage, hitting seven free throws over the games final minutes.

The Lady Bearcat inside game was strong throughout the game, as Glassbrenner added four blocked shots and five points to her nine rebounds, while Reilly had six points, seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals.

Nicole Dickman led Thomas More, recording a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds.  Teammate Caitlyn Mauch came off the bench to score 10.

Saint Vincent (4-12) will next be in action on Saturday night, looking to snap its three-game losing streak against Westminster at 6pm in the Carey Center.  The game will be aired live on The Red Zone Media Network (www.redzonemedia.com).

PHOTO (By Jordan Bishop): SVC's Laura Klimchock slashes through the paint against Thomas More