GENEVA, NY – Powered by a double-digit effort from four players, the Vassar College women's basketball team defeated William Smith College, 89-77 in Liberty League action on Friday at Bristol Gymnasium. The Brewers improve to 17-6 with the win and 16-1 in league action, while the Herons slip to 7-17 and 6-11 in Liberty League play.
A tight 47-44 Vassar lead after the opening half of action saw a tight third quarter battle as the two teams traded baskets to open the frame. Christina Mitrow sank a layup to put William Smith ahead 52-50 at the 7:32 mark, but a three-pointer followed by Vassar junior
Alex Lee to make it a 53-52 visitor lead.
That margin failed to hold as each team gained the lead on their ensuing possession, neither giving much wiggle room right up to the end of the frame as a pair of Brooke Jarvis free throws sent William Smith into the final quarter with a 64-61 advantage.
The Herons quickly added in the final 10 minutes as Olivia Parisi dropped in a layup for the 66-61 lead, but buckets from junior captain
Eliza Srinivasan and senior captain
Sarah Gillooly helped to tie the game at 66-all with 6:52 on the clock.
The jumper by Gillooly to tie turned into an 9-0 run for the senior and a 14-0 run for the Brewers as they opened a 12-point (78-66) lead with just 4:25 to play. Parisi and Jarvis both dropped in back-to-back buckets to pull the Vassar margin to four (78-74) with just 1:43 remaining, but a three by rookie
Julia Harvey, coupled with a pair of free throw makes by Srinivasan made it an 83-74 lead with under a minute to play.
Gillooly dropped in four free throws, while rookie
Tova Gelb also sank a pair of free throws to seal the victory for the Brewers.
Leading the Brewers was Gillooly, who dropped in a career and game-high 27 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor. She also went 4-of-6 from three-point range and was 9-of-12 from the charity stripe with four assists and two steals. Senior captain
Dani Douglas added 20 points with seven rebounds, an assist and two steals, while Gelb dropped in 17 points, two boards and two assists. Harvey finished with 11 points and five boards.
For William Smith, Jarvis posted 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Mitrow added 20 points and five boards with two assists. Parisi added 15 points and 10 boards with two assists, while Lauren DeVaney dropped in seven points and four assists with a game-best 21 rebounds. Kerstin Kelly led all players with six assists in the contest.
Both teams return to action on Saturday in 2pm league tilts. The Brewers travel to Ithaca College in a battle of the top two teams in the Liberty League. Both squads own a 16-1 record with the top-seed in the upcoming league tournament on the line. The Herons will host Rensselaer at Bristol Gym.
