John Carroll used a 10-2 run over the final 2:40 of the game to close out St. Vincent by a 77-71 score in a non-conference match-up held Monday at the DeCarlo Varsity Center.

Box Score

Over their first nine games the Blue Streaks had lost five games to teams that -- as of December 21 -- owned a combined record of 32-9. The St. Vincent Bearcats came to University Heights with a stellar 6-1 mark and looked to add their name to John Carroll's impressive list of vanquishers when they took a 69-67 lead on a Devin McGrath lay-up with 2:44 left to play.

But the host Blue Streaks answered the bell late, primarily thanks to eight straight points by junior Sadie Zander. After splitting a pair of free throws with 2:39 to play, Zander buried a three-pointer to give JCU a 71-69 edge at the 2:18 mark.

Following a jumper by St. Vincent Emily Fenton that tied the score at 71-71, Zander would give John Carroll the lead for good by making two free throws with 1:19 remaining in the contest. She then made the decisive play of the game, stealing a pass and converting a lay-up that gave the host squad a 75-71 advantage with 46 ticks left on the clock.

Lee Jennings closed out the scoring with two free throws made in the final 30 seconds.

JCU had some big leads early, only to have the Bearcats make runs to wipe those leads out. The Streaks scored the 11 of the first 15 points of the game, after which St. Vincent used an 11-4 run of its own to knot the score at 15-15.

The Streaks again went on a roll, capping a 12-2 run with a Whitney Hamilton three-pointer that staked the home team a 27-17 lead at the 5:52 mark. But it took a jumper  by John Carroll sophomore Katherine O'Brien at the buzzer to send the game into the intermission deadlocked at 34-34.

In the second half, JCU led by nine points on four occasions, the last of which was 62-53 on a Laura Gruber lay-up with 9:10 showing on the second half clock. But over the next six-and-a-half minutes, St. Vincent would limit the Streaks to five points while forcing nine turnovers as part of a 16-5 run that gave the Bearcats their first lead of the period.

John Carroll (5-5), which won its third consecutive game, shot a season-best .563 from the field for the game. That mark included a 13-18 effort (.722) in the second half.

Zander led the way with 20 points, while Jennings added 18 points and eight assists. The two JCU forwards, Katie Knox and Caitlin Sureck, each had seven boards to lead their team, and were a combined 8-12 from the field and 3-3 from the line for their 21 points

St. Vincent (6-2) was led by Maria Baroffio's 15 points, while Melissa Mansur added 13. The Bearcats forced John Carroll into 27 turnovers but had trouble connecting from long range (6-26, .231).