Box Score

CANTON, NY (March 1, 2014) -- Head coach Candice Brown and her Vassar College women's basketball team earned its third Liberty League title in the last four seasons with a 64-60 win over top-seeded St. Lawrence University Saturday in action from Berkman Gymnasium. The win assures the Brewers a spot in the NCAA Tournament, with the destination for Vassar to be announced Monday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.
 
The story of Saturday's contest was the brilliant play from junior guard Allyson Pemberton (Weston, MA/Weston), who had a coming-out party with a career-high 24 points. Pemberton earned Liberty League Tournament Most Outstanding Player, as she went 7-of-10 from the floor, making 10 of the 11 free throws she took.
 
"We came out with a lot of fight," said Brown. "Allyson was exceptional all night, and I'm just really proud of our seniors being able to cut down the nets for the third time after winning as freshman and sophomores."
 
Another key for Vassar College (22-5) was its strong rebounding, as it earned a 42-34 edge on the glass, which limited the second-chance points from the Saints (19-8). Early in the contest, the score remained within one possession until St. Lawrence earned the game's biggest advantage of five with 2:40 remaining in the half on an Allison Cady layup. SLU would take a 33-29 lead into the break, as Kelly Legg paced the hosts with 10 points and 11 boards in the opening period.
 
After the intermission, VC trailed by as much as seven with 14:44 to play in regulation, but slowly inched back, finally knotting the score at 45 with 8:50 on the clock thanks to a field goal from senior Hannah Senftleber (Burlington, VT/Burlington). Two possessions later, Vassar took its first lead since 15-12 on a triple by Cydni Matsuoka (Sacramento, CA/John F. Kennedy).
 
After Kara McDuffee answered with a three-pointer, Vassar hunkered down on defense, posting an 8-0 run while forcing SLU into five consecutive missed shots and two turnovers to take a 58-50 lead with 2:58 remaining. The Saints didn't go away though, as McDuffee converted both types of three-point plays to trim the VC lead to two at 58-56.
 
The two squads would trade buckets to make the count 60-58, but a huge play came after a turnover by Vassar. Pemberton fouled McDuffee after a steal when it looked like she was going to be able to break into the open court, but it was only VC's sixth team foul. On the ensuing possession, Vassar forced SLU into a shot clock violation.
 
After being fouled, sophomore guard Caitlin Drakeley (Woodbury, CT/Nonnewaug) made both free throws, followed by a pair by Matsuoka to ice the game for VC and send it to the NCAA Tournament for the third time. Matsuoka and Senftleber earned All-Tournament team with Pemberton, and the trio was joined by McDuffee and Cady from SLU.
 
After Pemberton's game-high, Matsuoka finished with 13 points and five assists, making all six of her shots from the charity stripe. Senftleber had 12 points and 10 boards to add another double-double to her ledger, and Rose Serafini (Milton, Ontario, Canada/Milton Area) and Michelle Foreman (Flemington, NJ/Hunterdon Central) each scored four points off the bench.

Vassar College made 20 of its 53 shots from the field (37.7 percent), but was great at the line, converting on 23 of its 25 free throws. VC also did a nice job at defending, holding St. Lawrence to just 32.3 percent shooting in the second period.
 
Legg finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds for the Saints, while McDuffee chalked up 16 points and six rebounds. Cady added 15 points for St. Lawrence, who became the eighth straight No. 1 seed in the Liberty League to not win the postseason tournament. Berkman Gymnasium also has been a lucky spot for VC, as all three Liberty League titles have come on that floor.