WAYNE, NJ (November 15, 2017) – The Vassar women's basketball team kicked off their 2017-18 season with a 60-56 victory over the Pioneers of William Paterson in Wayne, NJ.
 
Sophomore Sophie Nick recorded her eighth career double-double off 13 points and 10 rebounds, while junior Samarah Cook registered a career-high six steals to help the Brewers take down the Pioneers.
 
The Brewers got off to a slow start in the first quarter, being put into a 6-0 hole nearly one minute into the contest. It took two seniors on a fast break opportunity to get the first points of the season as Kim Romanoff hit Ariella Rosenthal for the jumper. Vassar quickly got into rhythm outscoring the home side 13-5 after their initial six straight points. Cook's quick hands helped the Brewers in the first period as she recorded three steals in the opening 10 minutes.
 
Vassar continued to press in the second frame as they were up by as much as seven points (22-15) at the 6:58 mark of the quarter. Ryan DeOrio, Jackie Cenan, and Rosenthal all scored layups on three straight possessions to keep the Vassar offense ticking. Maddie Leong assisted on a Cenan jumper that put VC up seven. William Paterson would claw their way back before halftime to pit the score at 28-24 in favor of the Brewers.
 
VC continued to lead throughout the third quarter, and it wasn't until the final quarter when the Pioneers took back the advantage. Early in the final period, the Brewers ran up their lead to eight points (46-38) after a layup by Nick. Over the next three minutes, William Paterson scored eight straight points to knot the score at 46-46.
 
Back-to-back jumpers by Rosenthal put Vassar back in the lead by four, but two free throws and two-straight layups by the Pioneers had them back in front for the first time since early in the game. Maeve Sussman was the answer for the Brewers this time as she knocked down a jumper and then put in a layup on the next trip down the floor to put Vassar back on top with under two minutes to play.
 
The Pioneers answered back to tie the game at 54, but layups by Cook and Nicole Teta gave the lead back to Vassar. Nick iced the game by making both her free throws with just six seconds on the clock.
 
Vassar shot 40% from the field off 23-57 shooting and was 40% from beyond the arc at 4-10. The Brewers reserves really sparked the offense, scoring 21 points off the bench.
 
VC will host Simmons College on Friday at 6:00 p.m. in the AFC for their home opener as part of the Vassar Tip Off Tournament which also features games with Oneonta and Wellesley.