Box Score

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 16, 2010) – In a Liberty League contest it had to win, the Vassar College women's basketball team did just that, defeating Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), 59-55, to keep its playoff hopes alive on Tuesday at the Athletics & Fitness Center. It is the Brewers' first win over RPI since January 15, 2002.

The Brewers improve to 9-13, 5-7, matching a program high for Liberty League wins. The 2000-01 Vassar team was the last team to record five league wins, going 5-9 to reach what was then called the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association (UCAA) playoffs. In order for the 2009-10 Brewers to match that feat they must win their final two games, hosting Hamilton College on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and William Smith College on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Additionally, Hamilton must lose its game to RPI on Saturday. The Engineers, picked to win the league title in the coaches' preseason poll, fall to 13-10, 8-4 and are now tied with St. Lawrence for No. 2 in the league standings. RPI hosts William Smith on Friday and Hamilton on Saturday.

Although leading by at least four points and as many as 12 points for much of the half, the Brewers saw a late ten-point lead nearly disappear. Two free throws from sophomore Kristyn Tempora gave the Brewers a 52-42 lead with 5:55 to play, an advantage Vassar held for over two minutes as neither team managed to score. Two free throws from RPI senior Amanda Brophy finally broke the drought with 3:24 remaining. The Engineers continued to chip away at the Vassar lead, drawing to within four, 52-48 with 2:12 to play, off a jumper from graduate student Whitney Coleman and two more Brophy free throws.

With the clock quickly becoming its enemy RPI was forced to foul, and while the Brewers went just 7-for-12 over the final two minutes, the Engineers shot just 2-for-8 from the field in that time. RPI still made things interesting, as sophomore Nicole Monroe calmly sank two free throws to make it a one possession game, 57-55 with 20 seconds remaining, but sophomore Brittany Parks responded with two free throws on the other end to ice the victory.

The Brewers jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead following the opening tip-off thanks to buckets from four different players and it took RPI nearly three minutes to find the basket on the other end, a jumper from Coleman. Vassar maintained its six point lead at 12-6 off a Carolyn Crampton layup with 14:50 to play in the half, but the Engineers scored seven unanswered to take their first lead, as Kirsten Orrell converted an old-fashioned three-point play to give RPI a 13-12 lead with 10:50 left in the half.

The teams traded baskets until consecutive layups from Hillary McKinley and Lauren Hayes gave the Engineers what would be their largest lead of the game, 19-16 with 7:38 to play in the half. However, the Brewers responded with six straight points capped by a up-and-under finger roll in the paint from freshman Tori Chaltain that put Vassar ahead for good, 22-19 with just over six minutes left before halftime. Vassar would never trail again, as the Brewers protected and cushioned their lead in the remaining minutes before halftime. With eight seconds left in the half, Parks slashed through the lane to convert a tough layup, sending Vassar into the locker room with its largest lead of the game to that point, 31-23.

In an offensively aggressive performance, Parks scored a game-high 21 points, continually pushing the ball deep into the paint to sink acrobatic layups. The sophomore point guard also added five steals and three blocks, both game highs. Freshman Olivia Westbrook-Gold chipped in with 11 points and six rebounds, while Chaltain added eight points and eight rebounds. Senior Emily Haeuser contributed nine points and three steals, while Tempora grabbed a team-high nine rebounds to go with five points and three assists.

Coleman led the Engineers with 19 points along with 13 rebounds and four assists, both game-highs. McKinley added eight points and seven rebounds while Brophy contributed eight points as well.