LATROBE, Pa. – The eighth-seeded Thiel College women's basketball team was knocked out of the PAC Championship Tournament Friday night with a 76-69 loss in the semifinals to the top-seeded Saint Vincent Bearcats.
 
The loss ended the Tomcats' Cinderella run in the conference tournament. Thiel defeated fifth-seeded Bethany (68-55) in the opening round before defeating fourth-seeded Chatham (75-70) in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals.
 
Thiel's semifinal appearance was its first sine 2009. The Tomcats were also the PAC's first eight-seed to reach the tournament semifinals.
 
In a game that went back-and-forth, Thiel trailed Saint Vincent 21-15 after one quarter. However, the Tomcats flipped the score in the second quarter and the teams went into the locker room at halftime tied up, 36-36.
 
The Bearcats edged the Tomcats 20-18 in the third frame and built up a 6-point lead early in the fourth quarter. Jess Vormelker (Orwell, Ohio/Grand Valley) cut the lead down to a single point (70-69) with 2:29 remaining in regulation, but the Tomcats would get no closer.
 
Alivia Sidley (Thompson, Ohio/Ledgemont) led Thiel with a game-high 25 points and collected six rebounds. She went 9-of-20 from the floor. Destiny Johnson (Baltimore, Md./Western) and Vormelker both finished with double-doubles. Johnson collected a game-best 13 rebounds and scored 13 points while Vormelker scored 12 points and reeled in 10 rebounds. Danyelle Lucido (Grove City, Pa./Grove City) also chipped in with 11 points.
 
Vormelker and Johnson were named the PAC Player of the Year and PAC Freshman of the Year, respectively, prior to Friday night's game.
 
Carlee Kilgus led Saint Vincent with 21 points. Paige Montrose scored 14 points while Madison Kollar scored 12 points and tallied a team-best eight rebounds.
 
With the win Friday, the top-seeded Bearcats will host the Washington & Jefferson Presidents in the conference championship game on Saturday. The game is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. Second-seeded Washington & Jefferson advanced to the title game with a 54-43 win over third-seeded Grove City on Friday.