Box Score

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (January 20, 2009) – Elizabeth Barker (Suffield, CT/Cathedral) leads the Liberty League with 11.8 rebounds per game, but on Tuesday night she showed her scoring prowess as she poured in 25 points to lead RPI to a 72-53 win over Vassar College. The Red Hawks used a 17-4 run midway through the second half to deny Vassar its first Liberty League win despite Emily Haeuser's (South Portland, ME/South Portland) 21 points.

Vassar is now 0-3 in league play and 2-10 overall. The Brewers will play their next home game this Friday in a 6:00 p.m. league matchup against Clarkson. RPI has won six in a row, and improves to 11-2 on the season and 3-0 in the Liberty League.

After heading into the locker rooms down 33-26, Vassar played RPI even for the first four minutes of the second half. Barker scored RPI's first six points of the half, but Haeuser displayed her own offensive versatility by scoring Vassar's first nine points of the half on two short jump shots, two foul shots, and a rare three-pointer from the top of the key. RPI led 44-37 with 15:55 left in the game.

In the next seven minutes, however, RPI went on a 17-4 run, getting seven points from Sarah Wetmore (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln Sudbury Regional) and five from Barker, to take a 61-41 lead, its largest of the game. The Red Hawks got steals from three different players during the run, as they continually switched from full-court press to half court defense, and from zone to man-to-man. The lead got as large as 25, 70-45, with 4:35 left.

Vassar dug itself into an early hole in the first half, turning the ball over on six of its first seven possessions and allowing RPI to jump out to a 9-0 lead to start the game. The Brewers got their first hoop on a Haeuser foul-line jump shot, but RPI responded with a 5-0 run and led 14-2 seven minutes in. The Red Hawks opened up their largest lead of the half when Barker converted an old-fashioned three-point play to put her team ahead 31-14 with 5:13 to play in the first frame.

After a put-back jumper by Jenica Law (Palo Alto, CA/Henry M. Gunn) and four straight points from Haeuser, the Brewers put together back-to-back stops on the defensive end and cut the lead to 31-20 with three minutes to play in the half. The run continued, with freshmen Kristyn Tempora (Malboro, NJ/St. John Vianney) and Brittany Parks (Escondido, CA/Escondido) each making jump-shots before Haeuser capped off a 12-0 Vassar run with a score to make it a five point game, 31-26, with just over a minute left in the half. After two defensive stops for each team, Laura Easterling (Ventura, CA/Ventura) snuck behind the Vassar defense and spun a buzzer-beating lay-up into the hoop to put RPI ahead 33-26 at intermission.

Barker hit 11 of her 13 free throws on the day, and made seven of 13 field goals. Wetmore and Caitlyn Charest (Swansea, MA/LaSalle Academy) also posted double-figures for RPI, scoring 16 and 12 points respectively. Haeuser's 21 points matched a career high, and she also pulled down eight rebounds. Tempora chipped in 14 points and six rebounds for Vassar, while sophomore guard Law led the Brewers with 10 boards. Vassar out-rebounded RPI 36-33, but turned the ball over 25 times compared to just 14 for RPI.