Box Score

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (January 29, 2010) – Although a last second layup sent the Vassar College women's basketball team into Friday night's overtime period with momentum, it was Skidmore College that came out strong in the extra minutes and held on for a 59-55 Liberty League victory at the Athletics & Fitness Center.

The Brewers fall to 6-9, and 2-4 in the Liberty League after dropping their last four games. Vassar is back in league play hosting Union College tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. The Thoroughbreds improve to 13-3, 5-1 and take sole possession of the No. 2 spot in league standings. Skidmore heads to unbeaten No. 1 Rensselaer tomorrow for a 2:00 p.m. game.

Although the Brewers held a lead for much of the second half, Skidmore took a 44-43 lead on a free throw from sophomore Christina Gargiso with 4:28 to play and a three-pointer from sophomore Megan Gaugler put the Thoroughbreds ahead by four. Sophomore Brittany Parks drained two free throws on the other end to make it a one-possession game, 47-45. With tension mounting and each possession getting more and more critical, neither team managed to find the basket and the score remained stuck at 47-45 for over three and a half minutes.

As time wound down and Vassar was forced to foul, Skidmore junior Christine Kemp went to the free throw line with 15.1 seconds remaining. Her first offering glanced off the rim and freshman Tori Chaltain pulled down the defensive rebound. On the other end, sophomore Kristyn Tempora sent a pinpoint pass to Chaltain, and the freshman sank a layup from the right block with just seconds remaining – her first and only points of the game – and Skidmore was unable to get a last-second shot off.

Despite Vassar's momentum, it was Skidmore that struck first in the overtime period, as senior Sharlyn Harper drained a three-pointer on the first possession. Consecutive layups from senior Amber Kinsey and three consecutive Vassar turnovers resulted in a 54-47 Skidmore lead with 2:50 remaining. The Brewers battled back to within three off an offensive rebound and putback from senior Emily Haeuser, but with just 17 seconds left in the game, Vassar ran out of time to complete the comeback.

In a fast-paced game, there were ten lead changes and four ties and 64 combined turnovers, 34 from Vassar and 30 from Skidmore.

Although the Thoroughbreds opened up scoring in the first half with a three-pointer from Gaugler, the Brewers reeled off 12 unanswered points to take what would match their largest lead of the game, 12-3 with 11:44 remaining. Harper finally broke what was an 8:50 Skidmore scoring drought, draining a three-pointer from the left-hand corner with 10:50 left in the half, in the process eclipsing 1,000 career points, Skidmore's 11th player to do so.

Tempora responded with a three-pointer of her own, but the Thoroughbreds put together an 11-0 run, capped by a long three-pointer from Gargiso that gave Skidmore a 17-15 lead with 7:34 remaining. Freshman Natalie Allen hit a crucial basket, converting an up-and-under move in the paint to retie the game at 17 and the Brewers maintained an advantage going into halftime with a 26-23 lead, helping their cause by forcing Skidmore into eight turnovers in the final eight minutes.

Parks paced Vassar with 18 points on 4-for-9 shooting from the three-point line and seven steals, both game highs. Haeuser added 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Tempora notched 14 points and three assists. Junior Carolyn Crampton had a game high seven assists to go with seven rebounds and three steals.

For the Thoroughbreds, Harper and Kinsey led the way with 16 points apiece, and Kinsey added four steals. Gaugler, Gargiso, and freshman Logan Frederick all added nine points apiece and senior Kelly Bischoff led Skidmore with eight rebounds.