POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – Vassar College gets its season underway against three pretty unfamiliar teams in the Vassar Tip Off Tournament. Head coach Candice Brown, entering her fifth year with the Brewers, will look to repeat on her program-record 21 wins from 2012-13. Brown was named last year's Liberty League Coach of the Year, as the Brewers led the conference in scoring.

Game Details
Opponent: vs. Wellesley College (0-0/0-0 NEWMAC)
Site: Poughkeepsie, NY
Facility:  Vassar Athletics & Fitness Center  (2,000)
Date: November 15, 2013
Time: 6 p.m.
Live Stats
Live Video Stream

Game Details
Opponent: vs. Plymouth State Univ. (0-0/0-0 Little East) OR Brooklyn College (0-0/0-0 CUNYAC)
Site: Poughkeepsie, NY
Facility:  Vassar Athletics & Fitness Center  (2,000)
Date: November 16, 2013
Time: 2 p.m. OR 4 p.m.
Live Stats
Live Video Stream

What To Look For
                  The Brewers will play host for their first few games of the 2013-14 season, as they entertain Wellesley College, Brooklyn College and Plymouth State University (NH). Vassar College comes in after being selected as the No. 2 team in the Liberty League, trailing only 2013 Liberty League Tournament champs St. Lawrence University. VC returns one of the best players in all of Division III women's basketball, as preseason first-team All-American Cydni Matusoka (Sacramento, CA/John F. Kennedy) is back for her senior season. Watch for Matsuoka to be the No. 1 option for Vassar when the game's on the line.

A Look at the Blue
                  Wellesley College enters this season coming off a 16-11 campaign last year, going 12-6 in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference. The Blue lost senior and 1,000 point scorer Malia Maier to graduation this summer, but WC does return its 2012-13 leading scorer in senior Leslie Leong. The junior played in 19 games, starting only once, but averaged 9.2 points per game in 24 minutes of action per night. Junior Morgyne Weaver started all but three of the team's 26 games last season, and was third on the squad in rebounding.
                  Wellesley finished as the NEWMAC's worst rebounding team in 2012-13, as it pulled in just over 34.5 boards per game. The Blue were good though on the defensive end, surrendering just over 50 points a night, third-best in their conference. Furthering their defensive prowess was the 12.5 steals per game they accumulated. Look for Wellesley to get to the rim, as WC took nearly 18 free throws a game last year.

A Look at the Bulldogs
                  Brooklyn College had a very strong season in 2012-13, as it went 24-7 on the year and lost to Baruch College in the CUNYAC Finals last March. As expected, the Bulldogs were selected high in their conference preseason poll this year, earning the No. 2 spot, five points behind Baruch. The Bulldogs did get a bid to the ECAC Tournament last year, falling in the finals to Hartwick College after wins over Mount St. Mary and Purchase College.
                  Gone for the Bulldogs is senior and leading scorer Brittany Bowen, who poured in 12.5 points and hit a team-leading 77 three-pointers made. Fellow graduates Tiffany Thompson and Charnelle Saint Laurent also are gone after combining for 18.1 points a year ago. Brooklyn College does return Vanessa D'Ambrosi, who finished with 11.7 points a game last year, grabbing 6.7 boards as well. Nicole Francomano started all but one game last year for BC, and returns after dishing out a team-best 126 assists.

A Look at the Panthers
                  Plymouth State will look to improve on last year's season, as the Panthers went 1-24 last year. The good thing though for PSU is that it does return six of its top seven point scorers from a year ago. Now senior Krystin Corliss paced the Panthers with 11.8 points per game, though she shot 28.2 percent from the floor. Plymouth State was last in the Little East Conference in scoring average, posting just 46.3 points per game a season ago. The Panthers were able to shoot the three pretty well, making nearly three a game from downtown.
                  Sophomore Taylor Perry scored 5.8 points per game, as she played 29.1 minutes a contest, and fellow second-year player Bry Bennett shot a team-leading 60 percent, averaging 5.7 points and 4.1 rebounds a game. Senior Meghan Faretra was among the league leaders in three-point percentage, making 25 percent of her attempts from downtown. Head coach Liz Stich, now in her second year on the bench for Plymouth State, did bring in a five-player freshman class with surely will help add depth to the PSU lineup.

Against Teams In The Vassar Tip Off Tournament All-Time
                  The Brewers are 4-11 all-time against the teams that are in Poughkeepsie, NY this weekend. VC is 4-9 against its opening game opponent in Wellesley, but the two teams have played only twice since the 2007 season. VC has never played Plymouth State, and is 0-2 against Brooklyn College. Vassar fell to the Bulldogs by two in Brooklyn in 2008, dropping a six-point game the next year in the AFC, 54-48.

Leader Of The Pack
                  Head coach Candice Brown enters her fifth year at Vassar as one of the winningest coaches in program history. Brown has 64 career wins, winning 36 games within the Liberty League. Brown is also a two-time Liberty League Coach of the Year.

Senft-ing Through
                  Senior forward Hannah Senftleber (Burlington, VT/Burlington) will look to improve on her already solid campaign from last year, as she corralled over seven boards to go with nine points per game. Senftleber can go inside or outside, and she is truly a tough guard for opposing forwards.

The Motto
                  Sophomore Caitlyn Drakeley (Woodbury, CT/Nonnewaug) didn't start from the bottom like her namesake Drake, but she's definitely here now. The second-year player looks to take over the other guard this spot this season, and has been stellar in preseason. If she can make shots and average around 10 points a game, VC could very tough.

Kiss From A Rose
                  Sophomore Rose Serafini (Milton, Ontario, Canada/Milton District) returns this season, and her production should increase with the increased role. Though Vassar will go smaller much of the time, Serafini still runs the floor great for a 6-1 forward and should benefit from the Brewer's quick and efficient guards.

Up Next
                  Vassar continues its season next Thursday evening, taking the short trek across the Mid-Hudson Bridge to battle New Paltz at 7 p.m. in New Paltz, NY.