POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – Powered by a career-high 25 points from senior captain Alex Lee, the Vassar College women's basketball team defeated William Smith College by an 85-61 margin in Liberty League action on Friday evening. The Brewers move to 16-8 overall and 13-4 in league play, while the Herons slip to 7-17 with a 5-12 Liberty League mark.

It was a high scoring affair to open the first quarter of play as the homestanding Brewers jumped out to a 28-20 advantage through the opening 10 minutes.

Vassar carried that momentum straight into the second frame, outscoring the visiting Herons, 22-10. A 14-0 run to open the staza sparked the Brewers to a wider margin as the quarter opened with back-to-back three pointers from sophomore guard Julia Harvey and senior captain and guard Alex Lee.

The Herons broke up the run as Carly Scott dropped in a trey with 3:35 to go, but consecutive three's from Harvey and Lee over the final two minutes, sent the Brewers into the halftime with a 50-30 advantage.

Third quarter action opened with a shot from beyond the arc by William Smith's Maddie Patrick, but a 6-0 run – four points coming from sophomore guard Tova Gelb – launched the Brewers ahead by a 56-33 margin with 7:06 on the clock.

The Herons put together a 4-0 shortly after, but another three from Lee at the 4:25 mark, coupled a minute later by a shot from downtown by rookie guard Naiya Kurnik made it a 64-39 lead for the Brewers with 3:15 left in the stanza.

William Smith saw Lauren DeVaney drop in a pair of free throws at the 48 second mark, but the Brewers offense continued to dominate, taking a 66-45 lead into the final period.

In the fourth quarter, Vassar kept up the pressure as shots from rookie guard Sierra McDermed and sophomore guard Ashley Mostrom went in. An inside layup from Patrick helped close the gap to 20 (70-50) with 6:38 to play, but 9-2 run by Vassar – including five points from Harvey had the home team ahead by 79-52 at the 4:24 mark.

The Herons responded with a 9-0 stretch with shots from DeVaney and a pair by Mara Bledsoe, but Vassar answered as Kurnik drained another three to open the margin to 82-59 with 1:29 to go.
Rookie guard Kolby Davis added a three as well as the Brewers played strong over the final minute for the victory.

In addition to her 25 points, which came on 10-of-19 shooting from the floor and 5-of-10 shooting from three-point range, Lee added eight rebounds with five assists and a steal. Harvey recorded 18 points, adding five caroms and three assists, while Kurnik dropped in 13 on 3-for-4 shooting from three point range. Senior captain Eliza Srinivasan posted a game-high 10 assists with a game-best four steals.

The Herons saw DeVaney finish with 13 points, adding nine rebounds, two assists and a steal. Patrick added 12 points with seven boards to go along with three assists, a block and a steal.

Vassar is back on the AFC Gym court on Saturday at 2pm, hosting Ithaca College in the regular season finale for both teams. William Smith heads to RPI on Saturday, facing the Engineers at 2pm in Troy.