Box Score
Game Program
Senior Day Program

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 9, 2013) – The Vassar College women's basketball team needed every bit of its 50 percent shooting performance and plus-19 rebounding advantage to fend off a scrappy Rochester Institute of Technology team, 85-75, on Saturday afternoon in Liberty League play at the Athletics & Fitness Center.

The hard-earned victory, Vassar's 19th on the season, not only kept the Brewers in the hunt for the top seed in the Liberty League playoffs, but also set a new record for victories in a season. With its 11th league victory, the sixth straight, Vassar also set a mark for Liberty League wins.

“It's a great accomplishment to have set the record for the most wins in school history,” said head coach Candice Brown. “Our team has worked extremely hard all season. We've put an emphasis on the defensive end to be successful in the second half of Liberty League play, and we're playing well.”

Now 19-4, 11-3 on the season, the Brewers will play their final two games of the season on the road against Skidmore on Friday and Union on Saturday. RIT, which had won four-straight games and three in league play, drops to 9-13, 5-8. The Tigers will host William Smith on February 12 at 6:00 p.m.

RIT was poised to upset the Brewers, jumping out to a 10-2 lead in the first 2:11 of the contest, getting four quick points from junior center Courtney Tennant. While the Brewers were able to tie the contest at 18-18, RIT held firm and forced a tie at 27-27 following a Tennant layup at the 5:50 mark.

That would be the final tie of the game.

The Brewers went on an 8-0 surge powered by the inside-outside combination of sophomore forward Colleen O'Connell and junior guard Cydni Matsuoka, to take a 39-37 lead. Once again, Tennant managed to keep her team close, connecting on a layup as the half ended, cutting Vassar's lead to 43-36.

RIT fought hard to keep the game close, but was ultimately unable to keep pace with the record-setting Brewers. Leading 47-43 with 16:04 to play, Vassar went on a 13-4 run in a 4:47 span, capped by a nifty inside play from junior forward Hannah Senftleber, to build a 60-47 gap at the midpoint of the second half. That 13 point lead was Vassar's largest of the game and enabled the Brewers to remain in control despite a concerted effort by RIT. The closest RIT came was 79-72 with 2:20 to play.

On Senior Day, with reserves Natalie Allen and Ali Higgins starting, the Vassar bench accounted for 32 of the team's 85 points. Allen matched her career high with ten points, while Higgins helped key Vassar's 13-4 run. Matsuoka led the Brewers with 17 points and six assists. O'Connell had 14 points and nine rebounds. Senftleber chipped in 13 points and sophomore guard Nyah Berg added ten points.

Tennant was a force for the Tigers, scoring 27 points and grabbing six rebounds. Junior forward Kayla Wheeler had 15 points and senior guard Leslie Havens had ten points.