Box Score

TROY, NY (February 20, 2012) – For the Vassar College women's basketball team, the third time is the charm. After losing both regular season games to Rensselaer, the Brewers won the contest that mattered most. In a game that featured six ties and four lead changes, the Brewers got a clutch layup from senior guard Brittany Parks with 33 seconds to play to defeat RPI, 56-51, on Wednesday night at East Campus Arena to advance to the Liberty League Championship game for a second straight year.

The No. 3 seed Brewers (17-9) will travel to No. 1 St. Lawrence (21-4) to decide the Liberty League Championship on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. The Saints advanced to the Liberty League finale with a narrow 56-55 victory over Union on Wednesday night in Canton. Vassar's 17 wins are the most since the 1999-2000 season. RPI finishes its season at 16-10.

Vassar won the game in dramatic fashion, coming back from nine points down in the first half – and eight with 4:15 until intermission, to take a 30-29 lead at halftime. In a see-saw, back-and-forth second half that was tied 48-48 with 4:27 to play, the Brewers broke free from the deadlock by holding RPI scoreless for the final 1:54 of the contest and with clutch baskets from three different sources.

The teams traded baskets until the 7:57 mark of the second half, when sophomore guard Cydni Matsuoka broke a 37-37 tie with a straight-away three-pointer. The Brewers never relinquished the lead (tied at 44-44 and at 48-48) thanks to solid free-throw shooting and timely baskets.

The first came from freshman forward Colleen O'Connell for a 50-48 lead with 3:28 to play, then a jumper from Matsuoka to extend the lead to 52-48 with 2:14 left and finally a driving layup by Parks for a 54-51 lead with 33 seconds remaining. RPI's senior forward Hilary McKinley had previously come through with a three-point play on the ensuing possession, only to be outdueled by Parks. Two free throws from freshman guard Michaela Janowski iced the game, 56-51.

On the strength of a 14-point first half performance from senior guard Sarah Wetmore, RPI threatened to make quick work of the Brewers, earning a 27-18 lead with eight minutes under halftime. Undaunted, the Brewers hung tough with 13 first half points from Matsuoka and eight from senior forward Kristyn Tempora. The Brewers went on a 12-2 run over the final 8:32, getting back to back buckets from O'Connell with under a minute to play to flip the games momentum and lead 30-29 at the break.

Both teams forfeited points at the free throw line, but RPI's 11-for-19 outing hurt the most. The Engineers were 9-of-15 from the line in the second half, and those shooting woes affected field goal shooting as well. RPI went 6-of-24 from the floor (25 percent) in the final 20 minutes. Otherwise, the game was statistically even.

Outside of Wetmore's 22 points on 7-of-25 shooting, the Brewer defense severely limited RPI's offensive production, which shot 11-for-34 from the field. Vassar limited senior forward Hilary McKinley to a 2-for-7 performance and scoreless first half. The league's second leading scorer finished with nine points and a game-high 15 rebounds.

Matsuoka scored 19 points and sophomore forward Hannah Senftleber had 12 points with an aggressive inside game. O'Connell had eight points and Parks six, her last points being the biggest of the game.