Box Score

ROCHESTER, NY (January 17, 2015) – The Vassar College women's basketball team battled back from a 10-point, second-half deficit to notch a huge 58-55 Liberty League win over hosting Rochester Institute of Technology Saturday afternoon from Clark Gym.

The Brewers (7-7, 2-3 Liberty League) trailed for much of the first half, as the host Tigers built up as much as a 13-point edge at 23-10 with 7:18 to play in the period after a Taylor Burns layup. VC slowly chipped away at the RIT lead, taking the game into halftime down seven at 27-20 after a Caitlin Drakeley (Woodbury, CT/Nonnewaug) jumper just before the break.

VC roared back after the intermission, scoring the period's first six points and 11 of the first 13 to take a 31-29 advantage following a free throw by junior Colleen O'Connell (Maywood, NJ/Immaculate Heart Academy). The Brewers earned their largest lead of the game at 34-31 after another free throw by O'Connell, but the Tigers (8-8, 2-5 Liberty) would respond.

RIT proceeded to go on an 11-2 run midway through the period, building its lead back up to 10 at the 7:57 mark of the second half on a jumper by Olsen. Vassar did not go away, as two free throws by Rose Serafini (Milton, Ontario, Canada/Milton Area) started a 6-0 run that contained two layups by Drakeley to pull the Brewers to within four at 50-46.

The Brewers were not done, as freshman Kim Romanoff (Durham, CT/Coginchaug Regional) continued the VC spurt with a jumper. The Tigers finally put an end to the run by VC, as Maria Edwards posted a traditional three-point play to make the score 53-48. Drakeley answered with a trifecta and two free throws to pull Vassar even at 53 with 4:11 to go in regulation.

After a timeout with 3:47 to play, Vassar regained the lead after a jumper by O'Connell, but Olsen knotted the game at 55 on a tip-in seconds later. The next time down, Serafini was fouled and made one of two from the stripe, putting VC back up 56-55. With under a minute to play Vassar called a timeout, but RIT held Vassar without points to get the ball back with 27 seconds to go.

After a Tiger timeout, Merissa Mairano went to the hoop by was swatted by Serafini, her fourth block of the game. After the inbounds, RIT committed a traveling violation, and Drakeley made two free throws to make the score 58-55 with 17 seconds left. In the waning seconds, Vassar avoided two three-point attempts by the hosts to tie the game to secure the victory.

Drakeley finished with a game-best 28 points, going 11-of-19 from the field, while grabbing six rebounds and blocking two shots. The junior guard also knocked down 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, and 4-of-5 from the line. O'Connell also posted double figures, as she added 10 points and five rebounds.

Junior Alex Moon (Mission Hills, CA/Bishop Alemany) was the only VC player not to score Saturday, but was still solid in her 34 minutes, dishing out three assists and pulling down eight rebounds. Serafini finished with four blocks and five rebounds, while Romanoff contributed five points and five rebounds as a reserve.

Vassar's ability to shoot free throws was clutch down the stretch, as VC connected on 18-of-22 from the line on the contest. The Brewers won the rebounding battle 42-35, and held RIT to just 13.3 percent (2-15) from behind the arc.

RIT was paced by the 16 points each from Olsen and Mairano, while leading scorer Ashlynn Palmitesso was held to just six points due to foul trouble and 2-13 shooting on the day. Mairano added a game-best 12 boards for the Tigers, who shot 40.3 percent (25-62) from the field.

Vassar returns to action next Friday night in the Athletics and Fitness Center to take on St. Lawrence University at 6 p.m. in more Liberty League action.