Box Score

TROY, NY (January 24, 2012) – The Vassar College women's basketball team found itself in a 19-3 hole just seven minutes into its Liberty League contest against Rensselaer on Tuesday night. The Brewers couldn't mount enough offense or make enough defensive stops to make a comeback, falling to the Engineers 74-59 at East Campus Arena.

A 28 percent shooting first half while allowing RPI to rip the cords at 54 percent, spelled trouble for the Brewers. For the game, Vassar managed only 33 percent shooting and the usually reliable 3-point shooting attack went just 4-for-18, a 22 percent outing. RPI was aided by a 48-22 advantage in points in the paint and a 50-35 rebounding edge.

The loss drops the Brewers to 9-6 overall and 3-3 in the Liberty League. RPI improves to 10-7, 4-4. Vassar returns home for its next two league games, starting with St. Lawrence on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and Clarkson on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. The Engineers next host William Smith on Friday at 6:00 p.m.

The Engineers led from start-to-finish. In RPI's initial 19-3 burst, four different Engineers got into the scoring column, led by six points from senior forward Sarah Wetmore. Down by 16, points, the Brewers went on a 10-0 to make the score 19-13 with 9:15 remaining, but RPI answered with four straight points to regain its double digit lead. Vassar sophomore guard Cydni Matsuoka did her best to keep Vassar in the mix with 10 first half points, but RPI kept its offensive attack at a premium and led 39-22 at halftime.

RPI scored the first four points of the second half for a 43-22 lead. The Brewers couldn't shave many points off the home team lead, getting within 16 points at 53-37 with 11:09 to play following a Matsuoka 3-pointer. A late bucket by senior forward Kristyn Tempora accounted for the final 15-point outcome.

Matsuoka led Vassar in scoring for the eighth time this season with 17 points. She had a team-high nine rebounds. Sophomore forward Hannah Senftleber was the only other Brewer in double figures with 10 points. Freshman forward Colleen O'Connell had eight rebounds.

RPI, which shot 48 percent from the floor, had four players in double figures, led by senior forward Hillary McKinley with 21 points on 9-for-12 shooting from the field. Wetmore had 12 points as did senior guard Lauren Hayes.