Box score

QUINCY, Ill. -- Courtney Heady's six three-pointers and Rachel Graves' 27 points led the SBU Bearcats to a season-opening 87-79 win over the Maryville Saints at the Quincy Tip-Off Tournament. The Bearcats hit 12 of 28 from long distance, including 64% from the floor and from three in the first half. Graves hit five of seven from long range and led with six assists and three steals. Ashleigh Gallio added 11 points along with five assists in her Bearcat debut.

"I thought our players gave a great effort," said head coach J.C. Carter. "We still need to work on some things, but it's good to get a win in the first game. We have a great team, that's very coachable and comes out and plays hard."

"We shot the ball really well, especially in the first half," Carter continued. "The thing that concerned me was giving up 13 offensive rebounds. Our effort and intensity was good. But those offensive rebounds led to second chance points and them getting to the foul line. We were a little shaky, turning the ball over, but that's probably because of having so many freshmen out there."

SBU got things going in a hurry in the first half with a steal from Heady and subsequent trey from Graves, giving the 'Cats a 3-0 lead. The Bearcats would lead the entire game. Their margin was eight points (45-37) at the break and swelled to 14 points in the second half. Mikal Bencomo led the Saints (0-2) with a career-high 21 points.

SBU (1-0) continues action on Saturday when they play the Quincy Lady Hawks at 5 p.m. The host team was an overtime winner against Iowa Wesleyan, 106-99. The Bearcats' home opener will be Tuesday night, November 24, at 7 p.m. against the Northeastern State RiverHawks.