Saint Vincent advanced in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference women’s basketball tournament and Bearcats’ coach Jimmy Petruska reached a milestone.
Petruska, in his 10th season, registered win No. 200 of his career as SVC downed visiting Waynesburg, 87-59, in the PAC quarterfinals.
Saint Vincent (8-0) advances to play Westminster (6-4) at home at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the semifinals.
Petruska has guided SVC to the PAC semifinals every year since he became coach, and the Bearcats have made the conference finals five times under his leadership. He led the team to a PAC title and a NCAA Tournament appearance in 2018-19.
Sophomore 6-foot-2 center Ella Marconi led SVC with 20 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks, while senior guard Carlee Kilgus added 13 points, sophomore guard Anna Betz had 12 and sophomore forward Madison Weber chipped in 11.
Betz, who made a trio of 3-pointers, and Weber came off the bench and helped SVC outscore Waynesburg’s reserves, 33-11.
Senior guard Jenna Lafko scored nine on three 3-pointers, and handed out five assists for the Bearcats.
Waynesburg (3-8) opened the game with a 7-0 run and was within 13-11 of the Bearcats early, before the hosts took a 42-35 lead into the half.
Eventually, they pulled away to extend a shortened season and keep their hopes alive for a second conference title in three years.
The Bearcats outscored the Yellow Jackets in the fourth quarter, 24-11.
Andrea Orlosky finished with 18 points, 13 rebounds and five assists to pace Waynesburg.
WBB: In the win, @SVC_WomensBball head coach Jimmy Petruska reached the 200 win milestone!#GoBearcats #pachoops #d3hoops pic.twitter.com/hpl7hELNYE
— SVC_Bearcats (@SVC_Bearcats) March 15, 2021
