The Lady Bearcats survived an upset bid  by Waynesburg University, escaping with a 61-55 road victory.

Janelle Reed led five Saint Vincent double-digit scorers, as she scored13 points, while Maria Baroffio added 12, Ashley Campbell 11, and Laura Klimchock and Caryn Glassbrenner 10 apiece.

The game got off to a slow start, as the teams were scoreless until Lauren Reilly made it 2-0 SVC at the 15:20 mark of the first half.  Waynesburg then responded, scoring nine unanswered points to go up 9-2 just two minutes later.

The Yellow Jackets then used strong three-point shooting to expand their lead to 20-11 with 7:45 left in the first frame, with Marquis Demniak nailing three treys in a two-minute span.

Saint Vincent countered with a big run of its own, outscoring the Yellow Jackets 14-4 over a five minute span to take a 25-24 advantage on a Baroffio lay up with just under two minutes left in the half.   The hosts then scored the final four points of the half, and the Lady Bearcats trailed 28-25 heading into the intermission.

Reed started the second half with a flurry, scoring seven points over the first two minutes of the final frame, giving the Lady Bearcats their first lead, 33-30, since five minutes into the first half.

The Lady Bearcat advantage eventually reached six, at 47-41, when Kathy Bianco made a runner through the paint with nine minutes left, and again on a Klimchock bucket that put SVC up 49-43 at the five minute mark.

SVC then went cold, and Klimchock's bucket turned out to be the final field goal of the night for the Lady Bearcats.   The Yellow Jackets brought it to within one on three seperate occasions over the final two minutes, but SVC was up to the task at the foul line, making 12 free throws in 14 attempts in the closing moments to hold off upstart Waynesburg and win its third straight.

Each team connected on 18 field goals for the contest, but the difference in the game was at the charity stripe, as the Lady Bearcats hit a total of 22 free throws, while the Yellow Jackets went just 12 of 21 from the line.

Jeannette Wonsettler led the Yellow Jackets, coming off the bench to score 15 points, while Demniak finished with 12.  SVC's Lauren Reilly and Waynesburg's Michaelene Jones each grabbed 12 rebouds on the night.

With the win, the Lady Bearcats complete a season sweep of Waynesburg and improves to 7-12 on the season, while Waynesburg dropped it's 17th straight contest to fall to 1-17.

Saint Vincent will return to action on Wednesday, hosting Geneva College at 6pm at the Carey Center.  The game will be aired live on The Red Zone Media Network (www.redzonemedia.com).

PHOTO: SVC's Ashley Campbell hits a jumper in the first half of the Lady Bearcats' win at Waynesburg