Box Score

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY -- The Vassar College women's basketball team dropped its second-to-last Liberty League match-up this Friday evening at the Athletics & Fitness Center, falling 69-39 to St. Lawrence University. The Brewers turned the ball over 32 times in the contest, and the Saints took full advantage, scoring 26 points off of turnovers. Senior Kimberly Sikule (Westerlo, NY/Berne-Knox Westerlo) picked off four Vassar passes, and the team had an impressive 17 steals overall.

Vassar is now 4-17 and 0-13 in Conference play. Tomorrow the team will honors its seniors, Chelsea Katzenberg (Middlesex, VT/U-32) and Elise Okusami (Olney, MD/Georgetown Day) in the final game of their careers against Clarkson at 2:00 pm. St. Lawrence improves its record to 20-4 and 10-3, securing its second-place spot in League standings. Tomorrow they will travel to RPI, which is still hoping for a playoff berth, for a 2:00 pm match-up.

Shooting woes plagued Vassar in the first half, as the Brewers scored just 14 points in the first twenty minutes of play and only put up 15 shots as a team. St. Lawrence, though, shot a solid 47 percent from the field in the first half on its way to establishing what would be for the Brewers an insurmountable 23-point lead.

Vassar cuts its first half turnovers (21) down to just 11 in the second half, and also made a collective effort to drive to the basket and get to the foul line. The Brewers shot 11 for 15 from the charity stripe in the second half and played even with the Saints. In the second half the teams traded baskets, but by controlling the offensive boards and dominating the inside game, St. Lawrence held the advantage at 32-25.

Vassar sophomore Emily Haeuser (South Portland, ME/South Portland) proved to be a bright spot in her team's offense, scoring 14 points in the second half. She finished with 18 points and 7 rebounds. For the second straight game Okusami was perfect from the free throw line (7 for 7) and finished with 11 points.

For the Saints, both Sikule and Jamie Wolff (Buffalo, NY/Nardin Academy) finished with 15 points and dished out 4 assists apiece. Junior Katie Palmer (Bourne, MA/Falmouth Academy) also had a strong game of her own, with 12 points and a game-high 8 rebounds.