Box Score

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (December 30, 2014) – Junior guard Caitlin Drakeley (Woodbury, CT/Nonnewaug) broke a 49-49 tie with a jumper with 16 seconds to play, lifting the Vassar College women's basketball team to a 51-49 non-conference win over Hartwick College in the non-conference and 2014 finale for the Brewers.

The final six minutes of the contest was nip and tuck, featuring three ties and no lead larger than four. VC (5-4) twice led by four points down the stretch, but Taylor Vonasek tied the game at 49 for Hartwick (1-7) with 41 seconds to play with a lay-up. The next possession saw Drakeley drive into the lane and finish with her left hand to put Vassar up by two.

On the next possession, Vonasek penetrated but was blocked by junior Rose Serafini (Milton, Ontario, Canada/Milton Area) with five seconds to play, with the Brewers grabbing the board. After a missed free throw by VC and two Hartwick timeouts, HC got a great look to win it by Emily Stone at the buzzer but the shot hit front iron, clinching the win for VC.

Drakeley would pace the Brewers offensive with 12 points, making 5-of-9 from the floor including knocking down two huge three-pointers in the second half. Junior Colleen O'Connell (Maywood, NJ/Immaculate Heart Academy) notched her third double-double of the season, and third in four games with an 11 point, 10 rebound effort.

Cook finished with 11 points, four assists and four steals in a career-high 35 minutes, and Pemberton added eight points and eight rebounds. Freshman Ariella Rosenthal (Mill Valley, CA/Redwood) also contributed seven points and eight rebounds for the Brewers, who made 20-of-54 (37.0 percent) on attempted field goals.

The Brewers won the rebounding battle 44-31, but gave the ball away nine more times than Hartwick (21-12). Vonasek chalked up a game-best 18 points for the Hawks, as she was the lone scorer in double-figures for the visitors. HC made 18-of-51 (35.3 percent) from the floor, falling to Vassar for the second straight season and second time in the series' six-game history.

Both teams struggled from the floor early in the game, as it was over a 20-day layoff for each squad. VC held the lead for the entire opening period, earning its largest advantage of seven at 18-11 after a jumper by Drakeley. Hartwick trimmed its deficit over the final eight minutes of the first half, eventually tying the game at 22 after a layup by Jacqui Foreman with 3:11 left in the opening stanza.

VC rattled off five straight points, but two layups by the Hawks in the final 21 seconds of the period sent the game into halftime with Vassar leading 27-26. Senior Allyson Pemberton (Weston, MA/Weston) and freshman Samarah Cook (Redding, CT/Joel Barlow) led VC in the opening period with six points apiece.

Vassar returns to the floor Friday night at 6 p.m. in Schenectady, NY for the Liberty League opener against Union College (5-2).