Box Score

POTSDAM, NY (January 15, 2010) – Although the Vassar College women's basketball team saw a 17-point second half lead whittled to five late in the game, the Brewers held on for a 69-63 victory over Clarkson University in the Liberty League season opener for both teams on Friday evening.

The Brewers improve to 4-5, 1-0 in the league and will look to build on their momentum at St. Lawrence University on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. The Golden Knights have now lost five straight and fall to 3-8, 0-1. Clarkson hosts Rensselaer tomorrow at 2:00 p.m.

In the previous six meetings between Vassar and Clarkson, the games were decided by an average of five points. When the Brewers jumped out to a 17-point lead midway through the second half it appeared as though this game would buck the trend. However, the Golden Knights mounted a comeback and though Vassar held on for the win, the final six-point differential looked much more like the nail-biters so common between these two programs.

After trailing by 11 after the first half, Clarkson scored four quick points to open up the second frame, drawing within seven, 32-25. However, the Brewers responded with a 10-2 run, thanks to five points apiece from freshman Tori Chaltain and sophomore Kristyn Tempora, taking a 15-point lead with 15:15 to play. Vassar maintained a double-digit edge for the next eight minutes, matching its largest lead, 49-32, with 11:03 to play, but a change in strategy helped the Golden Knights get back into the game, as Clarkson attacked the basket on every possession in hopes of drawing fouls and the accompanying free throws.

Emblematic of that change in strategy, Carey Turner sparked a 14-2 run with an old-fashioned three-point play with 10:51 remaining. The Golden Knights went 10-for-11 from the free throw line during that stretch, to draw within five, 53-48, with 5:40 left in the game. Although Vassar responded with six unanswered points, off a free throw from freshman Olivia Westbrook-Gold, two free throws from sophomore Brittany Parks, and a three-pointer from Tempora to take a 59-48 lead with 4:07 remaining, Clarkson was never far behind, steadily cutting into Vassar's lead. The Golden Knights made things interesting, drawing within four, 67-63, but with just nine seconds remaining, Clarkson's comeback ran out of time and two Emily Haeuser free throws gave the Brewers their final margin of victory.

The Brewers never trailed in the first half, jumping out to a quick 6-0 lead just over two minutes into the game off baskets from Parks, Haeuser, and Chaltain. The Golden Knights got on board with a three-pointer from Lauren Pluchino, and remained within striking distance for much, never trailing by more than seven for all but the final minute of the half. Clarkson battled back to within one, 22-21, on a Pluchino lay-up with 4:18 remaining in the half, but the close call seemed to awaken the Brewers, who shut out the Golden Knights with a 10-0 run to head into the locker room with a 32-21 lead. Parks spear-headed the crucial half-ending run, netting eight of the ten points, on a lay-up, three-pointer, and old-fashioned three-point play. Parks had 16 first half points, while Chaltain had eight, scoring six of Vassar's first ten points.

Parks led Vassar with 26 points, shooting 8-for-16 from the field and 8-for-9 from the free throw line, and contributed six rebounds and three steals. After recording career highs in points and rebounds in Vassar's last game against John Jay on Monday, Chaltain again set new personal bests, notching her second consecutive double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, to go with three assists. Tempora and Haeuser added ten points apiece as the Brewers shot 44.4 per cent from the floor.

Turner matched Parks with a career high 26 points, 22 of those coming in the second half, while Pluchino added 16 points and four blocks.