SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY (December 30, 2016) — In the Liberty League opener, the Vassar College women's basketball team (3-7, 0-1) fell in the final seconds at Skidmore College (4-5, 1-0) on Friday, 68-66.

Ariella Rosenthal led the Brewers with 19 points, while Sophie Nick added 15 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. 

Vassar shot 37 percent from the floor and 24 percent (4-of-17) from three-point range, while the home team shot 39 and 23 (5-of-22) percent, respectively.

For the Thoroughbreds, Kelly Donnelly led with 32 points and 13 rebounds, while Haley English added 12 points.

The game was nip-and-tuck the entire way, featuring eight ties and four lead changes. During the game, Vassar led by as many as five, while Skidmore had as much as a nine-point lead. 

On their home court, the Thoroughbreds jumped out to a 7-0 advantage before Nick knocked down the Brewers' first field goal, 7-2. Nick brought Vassar within two about three minutes later with another jumper, 11-9. 

Skidmore led up until the final seconds, as Vassar scored 10 of the final 11 points of the first quarter. The lead finally flipped when Maddie Leong hit a buzzer-beating jumper to give the Brewers a 21-19 advantage. 

The second quarter belonged to the Thoroughbreds, as they outscored the Brewers, 20-12, before taking a 39-33 edge into the locker rooms. 

But the Brewers came out of the break with fire, scoring 13 of the first 14 points of the third quarter for a 46-42 lead. Isa Peczuh scored all seven of her points during the surge with a jumper, a pair of free throws and a triple. 

Skidmore scored eight of the next 12 points before Nick ended the quarter with a triple to give Vassar a 55-50 advantage going into the final frame. 

Neither side led by more than two possessions in the fourth quarter. At one point, Rosenthal hit a trifecta of Vassar field goals to give the Brewers a 61-56 advantage with 4:10 to go. 

Following Rosenthal's third field goal of the sequence, the Thoroughbreds scored nine of the next 10 for a 65-62 lead. Nick brought the Brewers within one with a layup before getting in the paint for another basket to knot it at 66-all with 32 seconds remaining. 

But Skidmore hit two free throws within the final 10 seconds to take the conference opener, 68-66. 

Vassar concludes its four-game road trip at Union College on Saturday, Dec. 31, with tipoff timed for 12 p.m.

—VASSAR—