GREENVILLE, Pa. — Thiel couldn't overcome a poor start in a 77-57 loss to visiting Saint Vincent in the Presidents' Athletic Conference opener for both teams Wednesday at Beeghly Gymnasium.

The unbeaten and 25th-ranked Bearcats (5-0) forced turnovers early with a full-court press, helping them jump out to a huge 24-2 lead midway through the first half.

To the Tomcats' credit, they eventually regained their composure and played a competitive game the rest of the way, starting with a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 24-11.

Thiel trailed 41-26 at the half but would continue to rally. Trailing 63-46 in the second half, the Tomcats got as close as 11 with a 6-0 run, sparked by two free throws by Kelly Muffley (Salsburg, Pa., Western Reserve Academy) and a pair of buckets by Leanna Yeager (Poland, Ohio, Poland Seminary).

The Tomcats aren't the first team Saint Vincent has stifled with tenacious defense. Only one of their five opponents has eclipsed 60 points while their last victim, Allegheny, finished with just 33 points.

The Bearcats' Devin McGrath led all scorers with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting. She finished with a double-double with 10 rebounds and also grabbed six steals. Brittany Sedlock reached 13 points, Emily Fenton had 12 and Caty Kumar finished with 11.

Muffley paced the Tomcats, who dropped to 0-5 overall and 0-1 in the conference., with 18 points and nine rebounds. She did most of her damage from beyond the arc, hitting four of her eight attempted 3-pointers. Yeager also reached double-figures with 10 points. Jasmin Jones (Pittsburgh, Pa., Wilkinsburg) contributed four assists and six rebounds while freshman Kaleigh Murphy (Yukon, Pa., Yough) pulled down seven boards. Rianne Thornton (Trotwood, Ohio, Trotwood-Madison) totaled six points and four steals.

Thiel will play PAC provisional member Geneva on Saturday at 1 p.m. in a non-conference matchup.