Box Score

CLINTON, NY (January 23, 2010) – Leading for the first 25 minutes of play on Saturday, the Vassar College women's basketball team saw its lead quickly evaporate following a 9-0 Hamilton College run in less than two minutes during the second half, as the Brewers dropped a 71-60 Liberty League decision at Scott Field House.

After winning their first two league games, the Brewers have now lost three straight, and fall to 5-8, 2-3 in the league. Vassar hosts a non-league matchup against the College of New Rochelle on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. The Continentals improve to 9-6, 2-3 in the league and face Clarkson University and St. Lawrence University on the road next weekend.

Taking a 32-30 lead into the second half, the Brewers scored first as senior Emily Haeuser converted an old-fashioned three-point play. However, the Continentals allowed the lead to get no larger, and took their first lead of the game, 38-37, off a layup by Blue Sanders with just under 15 minutes to play, forcing Vassar to call a timeout. Coming out of the break, junior Carolyn Crampton hit a layup and Vassar briefly regained the lead, but Alex Sowinski sank a jumper to give Hamilton a 40-39 lead with 13:19 remaining.

The Continentals then went on the decisive 9-0 run, capped by a three-pointer form Sowinski that put Hamilton ahead, 49-39, with 11:35 to play. Vassar responded with a jumper from freshman Olivia Westbrook-Gold and a layup from sophomore Brittany Parks to pull within six, but Madie Harlem quickly countered with five points of her own, off a three-pointer and jumper to give Hamilton a 54-43 edge. Ensuing free throws from freshman Anielle Fredman cut the deficit to single digits again, but it was the last time Hamilton's lead would dip below ten as Harlem drained another three-pointer. Harlem, a freshman, boosted the Continentals to the win with 11 second half points on the strength of 3-for-4 shooting from behind the arc, all coming in the final 9:17 of the game.

In a closely played first half, the Brewers never trailed. After Vassar took an early lead, Hamilton tied the game 6-6 three minutes into play, but freshman Tori Chaltain hit a layup to put the Brewers ahead. After two free throws from Chaltain capped a 5-0 run, the Brewers held what was then their largest lead of the game, 17-10, with 10:53 left in the half. Vassar was unable to create a larger edge, however, and a layup from Sanders with four and half minutes left drew the Continentals to within a basket, 22-20. Vassar responded to take another seven-point lead, 31-24,off a Crampton jumper with just under two minutes remaining in half. The Continentals made their only three-pointers of the half at a crucial moment however, as Eliza Howe and Harlem – foreshadowing her second-half performance – connected from behind the arc to send Hamilton into the locker room trailing by just one bucket, 32-30.

Despite playing with four fouls in the final 11:39, Haeuser scored a team-high 17 points to go with eight rebounds and three steals. Parks added 12 points, ten coming in the second half, to go with three assists and two steals. Sophomore Kristyn Tempora and Chaltain chipped in with ten points apiece while Crampton added seven points.

Cate Schafer finished with 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field, while Harlem added 16 points, shooting 4-for-6 from the three-point line, to go with four assists. Sowinski added 14 points and four assists, while Howe and Sanders were also in double-digits with ten points apiece. Hamilton, the league's top team in three-point field goal percentage, shot 7-for-12 (58.3 percent) from behind the arc, while the Brewers were just 2-for-9.