WORCESTER, MA – Powered by a strong second-half effort, the Vassar women's basketball team posted a 69-58 victory at Clark University on Wednesday afternoon. The win moves the Brewers to 4-5 overall, while the Cougars are now 6-6.

Opening quarter action saw the Brewers trailing, but a free throw make at the 7:42 mark by senior Sarah Gillooly pulled Vassar to within 6-5 early. VC closed the gap, tying the contest at 8-all on a three from rookie Julia Harvey, before another trey from senior Dani Douglas made it an 11-8 edge for the Brewers at 6:36.

Clark battled back and the contest remained locked in an 11-11 tie until a Cougars bucket from Mariah Harris pushed the home team out by two (13-11) at 5:31. A three-pointer from rookie Tova Gelb at the 1:43 mark gave the Brewers a 16-15 advantage, but the Cougars dropped in a late shot to end the quarter up 19-16.

Second quarter action saw back-to-back shots from Douglas and Gelb tie the game at 20-20 at 7:26, forcing the homestanding Cougars into a timeout. Defense continued to play a key role throughout the frame with neither team opening up more than a two-point lead until the 5:30 mark as Ginny Benbow drained a shot to give Clark a 24-20 edge.

A pair of back-to-back free throws from Harvey pulled the game even (24-24) and gave the Brewers the 26-24 advantage at 3:41. Following a Clark bucket, Douglas and Harvey each posted three-pointers to push the Brewers ahead by a 32-28 margin. Benbow dropped in a three of her own to cut the lead to one (32-31), but junior Alex Lee counted with 42 seconds to go with a shot of her own from outside the arc for a 35-31 advantage that held until halftime.   

Out of the intermission, the Cougars battle back, taking a 42-38 lead at the 4:46 mark behind a Benbow three-pointer. A Douglas jumper helped close the gap seconds later and a pair of free throws from junior Eliza Srinivasan tied the game at 42-all with 3:37 to play. Clark broke the tie at 1:45 as a jumper from just inside three-point line by Sarah Zambrano drained in, sending the teams into the fourth with a 44-42 score in the Cougars favor.

Fourth quarter action saw Harvey once again sparkle at the free throw line, draining a pair of shots to tie the contest at 44-44 at 9:26. An inside layup from Megan Swedberg at 8:10 pushed the home team ahead 46-44, but a three-pointer from Douglas vaulted the Brewers back into a 47-46 lead with 7:39 left to play.

Harvey added a layup at 6:19 to widen the margin (49-46) and a three from rookie Tash Thompson made it a six-point (52-46) edge less than a minute later. Clark's Julianne Liebow nailed a three-pointer to narrow the Vassar lead (54-52), but the Brewers countered as Gelb sank her own trey on the other end. Out of a Cougars time out, Douglas buried another three (60-54) at 2:29.

The Cougars could not hold off the Brewers offense down the stretch as Harvey, Gelb and Srinivasan each added points, while the VC defense held Clark to just two points over the final 1:37 of the game.
Harvey and Douglas each recorded 19 points to lead the Brewers offense. From beyond the arc, Douglas posted five three's with six rebounds and four steals, while Harvey was a perfect 8-for-8 at the line – adding two boards, six assists and three steals. Gelb came off the bench to record 12 points, including a career and game-high 13 rebounds to go along with a career-high six steals.

For the Cougars, Benbow came off the bench to record a game-best 21 points, adding two boards, two assists and a steal. Emily Sifferlen had 10 points with 10 rebounds for the double-double, also dropping in five assists and six steals with a block.

Vassar returns to action on Friday when it returns to Liberty League play in 2022, hosting Clarkson at 5:00pm in the AFC Gymnasium. Clark returns to the court on Monday, hosting Regis in non-league action at 7pm.