WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – Despite a season-high 16 points from senior guard Jackie Cenan, the Vassar College women's basketball team was unable to get past Williams College on Tuesday evening, falling 76-65 in double overtime against the Ephs. The win moves Williams to 2-0 on the season, while the Brewers shoulder their first loss of the young season and are now 2-1.

Tied up at 62-62 in the second overtime, Williams opened quickly with a back-to-back buckets to move it to a five-point (68-62) advantage. Senior forward Sophie Nick (Denver, CO) cut the deficit with a layup inside at 3:06, but sophomore forward Maddy Mandyck (West Hartford, CT) laid down a bucket of her own to rebuild the six-point (70-64) advantage at 2:40.

Despite a made shot from the free throw line by sophomore guard Sarah Gillooly (Stow, MA), the Brewers were unable to pull back into the contest as Williams pulled away for the victory.

Locked in a 55-all tie following regulation, the Brewers jumped out to the lead in the overtime session as Cenan (Laguna Beach, CA) converted a jumper at the 4:07 mark. Another clutch three-pointer came off the hands of senior guard Emily Chang (Newton, MA) to give the Ephs a critical 58-57 lead.
Vassar, which dominated the glass in the game, saw Nick equalize the game at 58-58, but a jumper from junior guard Maggie Meehan (Southington, CT) once again pushed the home team into the lead with just over two minutes to play.

Trailing by two, Peczuh converted a pair of free throws at the line to tie things at 60-60. Those buckets made her 6-of-6 from the line for the contest. Williams countered and regained the advantage on a layup from junior guard Mikaela Topper (Cupertino, CA), but out of the timeout, Peczuh converted down low to once again knot the score with 35 seconds to play.

A late jump ball went in favor of the Brewers with 14.3 seconds remaining, but Vassar was called for the travel, giving possession back to Williams. Vassar took advantage of remaining fouls to turn an in-bound with nine seconds remaining for the Ephs into a two second margin and despite a last-second attempt, the game moved into the second overtime.

After an opening quarter that saw the Brewers hold a 10-point advantage, the homestanding Ephs came alive late in the second stanza. With Vassar owning a 29-20 lead with 2:11 to go, Williams saw Mandyck sink a layup, followed soon after on a jumper by Meehan.

A layup from junior guard Gabby Martin (Madison, CT) with 29 seconds left cut the deficit to 29-26 and Chang's three-pointer with 25 seconds to go sent the two teams into halftime locked in a 29-all score.

Third quarter action kicked-off with Vassar regaining the lead as junior forward Natalie Pettirossi (Weston, MA) sank a pair of free throws. Meehan laid down a jumper and it continued back-and-forth until the 2:58 mark as Martin nailed a shot from downtown to give Williams the 37-36 advantage.

Senior guard Isa Peczuh (Willington, CT) turned the tide for the Brewers, scoring the next four points to give VC a 40-37 advantage with 55 seconds to play, but a layup from senior forward Emily Peckham (Howard Beach, NY), followed by another clutch three from Chang with three seconds left moved it to a 42-40 lead for the homestanding Ephs.

Williams opened the fourth quarter with a five-point (45-40) lead but the Brewers finally cut into the advantage as junior guard Ryan DeOrio (Collegville, PA) drained a layup and senior guard Jackie Cenan (Laguna Beach, CA) poured in a three pointer to tie it at 49-49 with 5:48 to go.

Vassar took the lead seconds later on a layup from senior Sophie Nick and owned a four-point lead but back-to-back jumpers from Peckham tied things at 53-all with 1:51. A jumper from Meehan with one minute to go made it a slight advantage, but an inside layup from freshman guard Emily Tincher (Pleasanton, CA) leveled the score at 55-55 with 31 on the clock.

Despite that momentum and a last-ditch shot from Tincher in the final seconds, the game was forced into overtime.

Williams was led by Topper, who laid down a game-best 23 points with four rebounds and five assists. Chang added 13 points, while Meehan poured in 12 points with six boards. Mandyck added 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

For the Brewers, Cenan led the team in scoring, while Nick had 14 points and a game-best 15 rebounds. Peczuh added 10 points and five boards, also going a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line.

Vassar returns to the court on Saturday when it welcomes Springfield College to the Athletics & Fitness Center Gym at 4pm. Williams hosts the Morin Memorial Tournament beginning Friday as it squares-off against Endicott at 6pm.