SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The second-seeded Skidmore Thoroughbreds closed the fourth quarter on a 15-4 run in the final four minutes to earn a 77-66 Liberty League Championship semifinal victory over the third-seeded Vassar College Women's Basketball team on Friday evening. Skidmore will head to top-seeded Ithaca to take on the Bombers in the Liberty League Championship final on Sunday afternoon.
The Thoroughbreds raced out to an early 11-3 lead as Amelia Medolla buried two three-pointers along with one triple from Madison Meyer. Vassar clawed its way back and took its first lead of the contest at 17-16 on a lay-in from senior
Eliza Srinivasan at the 2:51 mark. Skidmore regained the lead at 22-19 on a jumper from Cassie Davidson but the Brewers held a one-point edge after the first quarter following a triple from sophomore
Julia Harvey and a layup from freshman
Sierra McDermed.
Harvey's bucket with 7:43 left in the second quarter put the Brewers up by five before the Thoroughbreds finished the half on a 16-2 run with Emmy Plage tallying six of the points during the run to go ahead 42-33 heading into the halftime break.
Vassar trimmed the Skidmore lead down to four at 50-46 with 3:29 left after five straight points from senior
Alex Lee. The lead was cut back down to four multiple times throughout the third period but the Thoroughbreds held a 56-50 lead after three quarters following free throws from Maddie Hastings.
The Brewers tied the game up at 62 apiece with 4:57 left in the contest after Srinivasan canned two jumpers and sophomore
Tova Gelb hit a pair of free throws. After a jumper from Davidson and free throws from Hastings, Lee cut the lead back down to two with 2:53 remaining. Skidmore tallied the next 11 of the 13 points scored in the final three minutes and clinched a spot in Sunday's final.
Lee finished with a game-high 23 points along with six rebounds while Srinivasan tallied a career-high 21 points, five boards and four assists. Harvey chipped in seven points and six boards while McDermed had six points and three rebounds.
Plage led Skidmore with 15 points off the bench on a perfect 6-for-6 from the field and added six boards and two assists. Davidson had 13 points, seven rebounds and three steals while Kate McCarney chipped in 12 points, three assists and two steals. Medolla added nine points, four assists and three rebounds for the Thoroughbreds.
Vassar finished the night shooting 37.1-percent and made five threes while Skidmore shot 49.1-percent and knocked down eight triples. The Brewers outscored the Thoroughbreds by two at the free throw line while Skidmore held a slim 28-26 edge in points in the paint.
Vassar falls to 18-9 overall on the season while Skidmore improves to 21-5 and will head to Ithaca on Sunday for the Liberty League Championship Final.
