Box Score
POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 5, 2010) – First half foul troubles and turnovers plagued the Vassar College women's basketball team as it dropped a 64-39 Liberty League contest to St. Lawrence University on Friday at the Athletics & Fitness Center.
The Brewers fall to 7-11, 3-5 in the Liberty League and host Clarkson University tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. Vassar stands in sixth place in the league standings, behind No. 5 Union (4-5) and No. 4 Hamilton (4-4). The Saints improve to 13-6, 5-4. St. Lawrence, which has gone 4-1 in its last five league games, moves into sole possession of third place in the league standings. The Saints travel to No. 2 Rensselaer for a 2:00 p.m. game tomorrow
The last time these two teams met, on January 16, the Brewers held the Saints to 46 points in a 50-46 victory; on Friday, Saint Lawrence had already scored 44 points by the time the first half buzzer sounded. The Brewers trailed 44-23 heading into halftime after committing 15 turnovers. Although Vassar recorded just seven fouls, it was an early two on senior forward
Emily Haeuser that proved critical.
After scoring four of Vassar's first six points, Haeuser, Vassar's leading scorer, was called for her second foul on an offensive charge with 16 minutes remaining in the half. Haeuser was relegated to the bench, and the Saints proceeded to go on a 21-1 run over the next 7:40 to take commanding control of the game, up 26-7 with 8:41 left in the half. Saints sophomore guard Casey Capello, who fittingly capped the run, had nine of St. Lawrence's points during that stretch and finished the half with 16 points.
The Brewers began to regain some offensive rhythm as freshman
Tori Chaltain broke a six minute scoring drought, slicing through the lane for a layup to end the Saints' run. However, Vassar could not get a stop on the defensive end to cut into the deficit as St. Lawrence headed into halftime matching its largest lead to that point, 44-23.
The Saints shot lights out from beyond the arc in the first half, draining six-of-11 three pointers (54.5 percent). On the defensive end, St. Lawrence was just as adept, forcing Vassar into 15 first half turnovers. The one bright spot for Vassar in the first half was Chaltain, who netted all 10 of her points on 5-for-8 shooting and grabbed four rebounds.
Although St. Lawrence cooled down considerably in the second half, scoring a total of 20 points, the Brewers were even cooler, with just 16 points in the second frame. The Saints held at least a 21-point lead for the final 17:49 of the game, taking their largest lead at 62-21 on an Iris Santoni layup with 11:52 remaining.
In just 18 minutes of action, Haeuser netted 10 points to go with six rebounds, three blocks and four steals. To go with her 10 points, Chaltain grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. Sophomore guard
Brittany Parks added eight points and four assists.
Sophomore guard Katherine Edgerton led the Saints with 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting, while Capello shot 7-for-12 to finish with 19 points and seven rebounds. Santoni added nine points, four rebounds and four assists, and junior guard Abby Stanton chipped in with nine points and five rebounds.
The Brewers committed 27 turnovers to the Saints' 14 with St. Lawrence holding a 27-4 edge in points off turnovers. Although Vassar committed 28 turnovers in its win over St. Lawrence earlier in the season, the Brewers outrebounded the Saints 48-32 in that game; on Friday it was the Saints who held a 43-33 edge on the boards. The Saints also racked up an 18-3 advantage in second chance points.
