POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – Despite a strong second half effort, the Vassar College women's basketball team was unable to close the gap, falling to Williams College by a narrow 63-60 margin in non-league action on Tuesday evening. The Ephs improve to 2-1 overall, while the Brewers fall to 0-3 on the young season.

Trailing by a 41-30 margin after the opening two quarters of play, Vassar turned up the intensity in the third frame behind a three-pointer from freshman Julia Harvey to cut the lead to eight (41-33) less than a minute in.

The Brewers continued to keep pace, narrowing the margin further later in the frame as a trey from senior captain Dani Douglas brought it to a 51-44 score with 3:53 remaining. A pair of free throws from senior captain Sarah Gillooly dropped the deficit to five (51-46) and despite a last second jumper from the Ephs, the Brewers found themselves headed into the final frame down 54-48.

Fourth quarter action saw a three-pointer from rookie Tova Gelb make it a 56-53 game just 1:20 in and the Brewers battled back to make it a one-point contest (59-58) behind a layup from junior Emily Tincher.

Trailing by four with 2:08 remaining, Tincher sank a jumper to close the gap to 62-60 and the Brewers fought to pull the game ahead. Despite holding possession over the final 12 seconds, Vassar was unable to get the ball to drop in for the score.

Vassar, which outscored Williams in both the third and fourth quarters, saw two players reach double-figures on the night. Leading the effort was Douglas, who dropped in 17 points, including 3-for-5 from three-point range, adding five boards, an assist and a steal. Harvey added 15 points, going 5-for-10 from beyond the arc, with two rebounds and a steal.

Junior captain Eliza Srinivasan had a game-best three steals, adding nine points, four boards and three assists, while Tincher dropped in eight points, three boards, an assist, a steal and a game-high two blocks.

For the Ephs, Maddy Mandyck led all players with 19 points and 21 rebounds for the double-double. She also added two assists and a game-best two blocks. Maggie Meehan posted 14 points, including a 4-for-5 effort from the line and a game-high four assists, while Izzy Sullivan posted 11 points, six boards and a block.

Vassar returns to action on Saturday when it travels to Springfield College to face the Pride at 1pm. Williams is back on the court Friday when it hosts its Morin Memorial Tournament. The Ephs face St. Lawrence at 6pm to open the action.