Vassar College Athletics

Box Score

NEWARK, NJ (November 30, 2009) – The closing minutes of the first half and the opening minutes of the second half were not kind to the Vassar College women’s basketball team as Rutgers-Newark put together a 17-4 run spanning the halves en route to a 55-48 win on Monday evening. The Scarlet Raiders scored five unanswered in the closing 3:18 of the first frame and went on an 11-4 run over the first six minutes of the second half to open up a solid lead they would not relinquish.

The Brewers fall to 2-3 and return to action on Saturday, hosting Brooklyn College at 2:00 p.m. The Scarlet Raiders improve to 4-3 and host Montclair State on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

With Rutgers-Newark leading 27-21 coming out of halftime, the score remained unchanged for the opening 2:16 of the second half as both teams struggled to score. Vassar freshman Tori Chaltain finally opened things up to bring the Brewers within four, 27-23, but the Raiders responded by going on an 11-2 run to take a 38-25 lead on a three-pointer from Courtney Vacca with 13:59 remaining in the game.

After trading baskets, Rutgers-Newark held a 40-27 lead, but the Brewers refused to buckle, scoring eight unanswered points thanks to a basket apiece from the freshman trio of Chaltain, Olivia Westbrook-Gold, and Natalie Allen, with a lay-up from sophomore Brittany Parks bringing Vassar to within five points with 8:37 to play. However, a three-pointer from Jared Tactuk broke up the Vassar run and the Raiders began to rebuild their edge, taking a ten-point lead off a Vacca lay-up with 4:39 to play. Immediately after coming off the bench where she was saddled for much of the game with foul trouble, senior leading scorer Emily Haeuser gave the Brewers a breath of life with an old-fashioned three-point play, cutting the lead to seven, 49-42, with 3:40 to play, but it was as close as the visitors would come, with only a last second three-pointer from Chaltain keeping the final deficit to single digits.

Martyna Ruminska opened up the game with a three-pointer less than 20 seconds following the tip-off, but sophomore Kristyn Tempora quickly responded with a jumper at the other end, setting the tone for a close half in which neither team held more than a four point lead until the final 47 seconds before halftime. The Scarlet Raiders carried momentum into the locker room after turning a 19-15 deficit with 7:27 left to play into a 27-21 halftime lead. There were three ties and four lead changes in the first half, while the Raiders held the lead for the final 20 minutes.

The Brewers were led by a solid all-around performance from Parks who posted 14 points, five assists, five steals, and three rebounds in 40 minutes of play. Chaltain, who also played 40 minutes, scored a career high 11 points to go with five rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Tempora added eight points and six rebounds, while Westbrook-Gold contributed six points.

Vacca led three Rutgers-Newark players in double figures with 19 points and 16 rebounds, both game highs. Ruminska shot 4-for-7 from behind the arc in a 15-point showing and dished out three assists, while Tactuk chipped in with 10 points .