NEW PALTZ, NY (November 28, 2017) – Sophomore forward Sophie Nick finished one point shy of her career-high Tuesday evening, helping the Vassar College women's basketball team defeat crosstown rival New Paltz 75-63 in non-conference action from the Hawk Center.
 
The second-year standout for the Brewers registered her season-best on the night, finishing just one point off her career-high of 22 points set last February at William Smith College. It looked like Vassar would roll to an easy win on the evening, as the Brewers opened up a 28-12 lead after the opening quarter thanks to 11 points from senior wing Ariella Rosenthal.
 
In fact, Vassar shot 62.5 percent in the opening half as it cruised to a 16-point edge at the halftime intermission. Nick scored eight of her points in the first two quarters, making all four free throws, while fellow sophomore Isa Peczuh chipped with seven off the bench for the Brewers.
 
After halftime, the Brewers pushed their lead up to a game-high of 22 points at 48-26 after a jumper from Lexi Mousley with 6:33 to play in the quarter. The Hawks (2-2) started to charge back into the game, going on a 12-2 run to make the score 50-38 just before the end of the third quarter.
 
The Hawks continued to chip away at the Brewer lead, pulling to within four points at 57-53 with 5:37 remaining on a jumper by Madison Van Pelt. The Brewers would continue to post at least a two-possession lead though through the late stages of the contest, icing the game at the line with eight straight free throws.
 
Nick finished 5-of-9 from the floor on the night, making 11 of her 12 free throw attempts while grabbing seven rebounds in the victory. Rosenthal chalked up her first double-double of the season with 16 points on 7-of-15 shooting, grabbing 10 boards to lead all players.
 
No other Brewer player was in double-digits, but nine others posted at least a bucket, led by the nine points and team-leading five assists from junior Maeve Sussman. Senior guard Kim Romanoff contributed seven points, five rebounds and two assists, as the Brewers assisted on 18 of 25 made baskets on the night.
 
Vassar shot 45.5 percent (25-55) from the field in the victory, moving to 4-1 overall on the season, marking the team's best five-game start since the VC opened the 2013-14 season an undefeated 5-0. VC made 21 of 31 free throw attempts on the evening, while owning the rebounding column, 47-35.
 
Poughkeepsie area native Marion Dietz was the leading scorer for the Hawks, chalking up 19 points and eight rebounds. VC held the Hawk's top offensive option Lindsay Bettke to just two points on 1-16 shooting, as she came in averaging 21.3 points per game prior to the contest.
 
The Brewers will open Liberty League play Friday evening against the conference's newest member Ithaca College, which will play its first-ever Liberty League game in Poughkeepsie at 6 p.m. in the Athletics & Fitness Center.