POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 19, 2015) – The Vassar College women's basketball team (11-13, 6-9 Liberty) will look to finish the season on a four-game winning streak Friday evening, hosting Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at 6 p.m. in the season finale. The Brewers knocked off Bard College 58-42 on Wednesday evening, as junior Caitlin Drakeley (Woodbury, CT/Nonnewaug) earned her 1,000^th point as a member of the Brewers.

Game Details
Date: February 20, 2015
Opponent: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (13-10, 9-5 Liberty League)
Links: (RPI Team Home Page) (Roster) (Schedule) (Statistics)
Site: Poughkeepsie, NY
Facility: Athletics and Fitness Center
Time: 6 p.m.
Twitter Coverage: (@VassarAthletics) (@VassarWBB) (@RPIAthletics)
Game Coverage: (Live Stats) (Live Video)
 
What To Look For
The Brewers will look to tie the longest win streak of the season on Friday evening, as Vassar College won four straight back from November 19-December 2. During the past three game stretch, Vassar has gotten it done with defense, holding all three opponents to under 50 points. During the stretch, the Brewers have averaged a paltry 44.6 points allowed, while holding teams to under 30 percent shooting in each of the contests. If the Brewers can continue that defensive intensity, VC could take a four-game winning streak into the off-season with some momentum towards 2015-16.
 
A Look At The Engineers (13-10, 9-5 Liberty)
The Engineers are fighting for the final playoff spot in the Liberty League Tournament, set to tip off next week. Coming into the weekend, RPI is deadlocked with Union College at 9-5 within the Liberty League as the two teams split the regular season series. If the two teams end up tied in the standings, RPI would earn the spot in the Tournament due to its win over regular season champion St. Lawrence University back on January 2. The Engineers are a strong defensive team, holding teams to just 55.4 points per game in conference play, the lowest total in the League. RPI shoots 34.2 percent from the floor on average, the second-lowest percentage in the conference, but makes up for it by forcing opposition into 18.7 turnovers per game.
 
RPI features the second-highest scoring tandem in the Liberty League in Amanda Lynch and Ashley Clough. Other than Cara Manfredi and Ashley Loggins of Clarkson, the RPI pairing combines to score 31.4 points per game and grab 15.2 rebounds a contest. Lynch is more of an inside threat, shooting 40.8 percent from the floor while taking 145 free throws. Clough has made a team-high 35 three-pointers, en route to her 15.3 points a night. Bailei Tetrault has started all 23 games for the Engineers, posting 6.6 points per game, and freshman Shaina Iton leads the team with 8.0 rebounds per game and also three blocks per game.
Projected Starting Five: Ashley Clough (15.3 PPG), Amanda Lynch (16.1 PPG), Bailei Tetrault (6.6 PPG), Shaina Iton (5.7 PPG), Courtney Reynolds (3.8 PPG).
 
Against RPI All-Time
The Engineers hold a 26-11 all-time lead in the series with the Brewers, as RPI has earned one Liberty League title back in the 2010-11 season. VC has earned eight of the last 11 games, though RPI took the earlier season matchup back on February 3, 58-48. Before that span, Rensselaer earned 15 in a row from a span of 2003-2010.
 
Previous Four Games: Feb. 3, 2015 | Feb. 14, 2014 | Jan. 28, 2014 | Feb. 5, 2013
 
1,000 Point Club
Junior Caitlin Drakeley became the 11^th player in Vassar College women's basketball program history to get to 1,000 points in her career, scoring 18 against Bard College Wednesday. Drakeley is just six points shy of moving into the Top 10 at VC, trailing Jamie Pearson and her 1,005 points.
 
Thank You, Come Again
Junior Rose Serafini (Milton, Ontario, Canada/Milton Area) is second in the Liberty League in blocks with 58, and is 32^nd in the country 2.43 blocks per game. Serafini set the single-season record for rejections in a season against William Smith last Saturday.
 
Rookie Rosenthal
Freshman Ariella Rosenthal (Mill Valley, CA/Redwood) is averaging 10.8 points per game, which is third-best among freshmen in the Liberty League.
 
Holding Teams Down
The Brewers have allowed teams to score just 42.5 points per game over their last two games, which is the best defensive back-to-back performance for VC since holding Brooklyn College and Wellesley College to just 41.5 points last year in the Vassar Tip-Off Tournament November 15-16.
 
Finishing Strong
Over the last three seasons, the Brewers have earned wins in each of their regular season finales.
 
Senior Farewell
Friday night's game for the Brewers will be the final time senior Allyson Pemberton (Weston, MA/Weston) wears the burgundy and gray. The computer science major has 495 points on her career coming into the RPI contest.
 
Nucleus Returns
Vassar College is set to return eight letter winners in 2015-16, along with a senior group of Drakeley, Serafini, Alex Moon (Mission Hills, CA/Bishop Alemany) and Colleen O'Connell (Maywood, NJ/Immaculate Heart Academy).