Box Score Box Score

CANTON, NY (February 26, 2011) – In sports, it's difficult to defeat a team three times in one season, and with the Liberty League Championship on the line, the Vassar College women's basketball kept that edict true to form, defeating William Smith 77-67 to win the school's first-ever championship and earn the automatic bid to the Division III National Championships that begin on March 4 at regional sites.

NCAA Division III National Championshp brackets and pairings will be announced on Monday afternoon.

The No. 2 seeded Herons had defeated the No. 4 seeded Brewers the two previous meetings this season, but Vassar used one of its patented offensive surges to break free from an early 10-5 deficit. Over a 4 minute stretch of the first half, the Brewers went on a sizzling 17-6 run keyed by back-to-back 3-pointers from junior guard Brittany Parks to secure a 22-16 lead and provide the Brewers, who were picked by Liberty League coaches to finish 7th, with an improbable championship and ticket to the NCAA Division III Championships -- both firsts in

A Season of Firsts: For the first time since joining the Liberty League in 2000, the Vassar College women's team has won the leauge championship and will play in thier first-ever NCAA Division III National Championship. "I am excited for the Vassar College women's basketball program," said head coach Candice Brown. "The players have made history for the program and we look forward to continuing this exciting journey."

school history.

The Brewers, whose 16-11 regular season record are the most wins since the 1999-2000 season and the most ever (10-6) in Liberty League play, used the same knockout punch against William Smith as was employed against St. Lawrence on Friday night. Parks and freshman forward Hannah Senftleber orchestrated the first half offensive assault with 11 and nine points respectively. The second half belonged to Parks, who was named the Liberty League Championships Most Valuable Player. She made all of her 14 free throws (on 15 attempts) in the second half, eight of them coming down the stretch when the Brewers were locking down the outcome.

"The difference today was that we had a burning desire not to be denied," said head coach Candice Brown, who was named the Liberty League Coach of the Year. "We spent all week working on defense. It wasn't going to be a game where offense controlled everything. It was going to be defensive stops that would win the contest."

Vassar's defensive-minded approach limited William Smith to 38 percent shooting from the field and 25 percent (7-28) from 3-point range. The Brewers also scored 19 points off 14 William Smith turnovers.

Vassar built a 31-21 first half lead with 1:58 to play when sophomore forward Natalie Allen, an unsung star against both St. Lawrence and William Smith, converted a layup down low. The Brewers held a 33-28 halftime lead, and weathered William Smith's only serious challenge of the game, a 13-6 run that tied the contest 41-41. The Herons had previously also tied the contest at 39-39 with 16 minutes to play following a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Silvia Salvatore.

A jumper from senior guard Mollie Danahy provided William Smith with its only lead of the second half, 41-39, with 15:17 to play. Both teams then traded baskets. Freshman guard Cydni Matsuoka, who was named to the All-Championship Team, scored on a jumper for a 43-41 lead and William Smith junior forward Kristen Kush answered to knot the game at 43-all.

From that point, it was all Vassar. The desire to win that Brown said burned inside her players was evident following a timeout with 12:45 to play. Senior guard Carolyn Crampton followed up a missed shot by draining a 3-pointer. Her second 3-pointer of the game lifted the Brewers to a 46-43 lead. William Smith came as close as 54-51 after a 3-pointer by Danahy with 5:38 to play. Then, the Vassar resolve kicked in full tilt and the Brewers proceeded to score nine straight points on mega-big baskets from Senftleber, Allen, Parks, sophomore guard Ali Higgins (who scored off her own missed shot for a old-fashioned 3-point play) and Matsuoka, for a 63-51 lead. 

Vassar scored all of its remaining 14 points off consecutively made free throws, eight of which came off the steady release of Parks, who ranks 11th in the nation in free throw percentage. The Brewers made 22 of 25 free throws (88 percent) in the game.

Parks led Vassar in scoring with 27 points, followed by 20 from Matsuoka and 15 from Senftleber, who scored nine of those points in Vassar's breakout first half. Senftleber led all players with 11 rebounds, her tenth double-double of the season.

William Smith's Danahy led all scorers with 28 points, and was the lone Heron in double figures. Kush had eight rebounds.