Poughkeepsie, NY – The Vassar College Women's Basketball team claimed the Hochberg Family Tip-Off Tournament Championship Saturday afternoon following an impressive 74-59 victory over William Paterson.
Julia Harvey (Delmar, NY) was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after scoring 25 points against the Pioneers, with
Sierra McDermed (San Antonio, TX) earning All-Tournament honors following a 22-point performance on Saturday.
Saturday's victory pushes Vassar to 2-0 through the season's first two contests.
First Half
- For the second straight game to begin the season, Vassar broke the game open early after tallying the first 16 points of the contest.
- Maddie Ahearn (Bethlehem, PA) opened the scoring with a three-pointer as Vassar led from wire-to-wire in the game.
- Harvey keyed the run for the Brewers with a pair of three-pointers.
- The Brewers did not allow a field-goal until the 3:43 mark of the first quarter and closed the opening 10 minutes with a 23-6 advantage.
- Vassar shot 60-percent in the opening stanza, including a 4-for-8 effort from behind the arc.
- William Paterson sliced its disadvantage to 25-17 on a Mattison Chiera three-pointer with 6:28 left in the second quarter.
- The Brewers spread its lead back to double-figures when a Tova Gelb (Sharon, MA) lay-in made the score 28-17 midway through the second frame.
- A Harvey free-throw with 57 seconds left before halftime moved the Brewers in front 39-23 before the Brewers went into the intermission leading 39-25 following a Jada Jacobs buzzer beater.
- Vassar went just 3-for-10 from the floor in the second period and shot 48-percent overall and 40-percent from three-point range over the opening 20 minutes.
- William Paterson was held to 30.6-percent shooting in the first half and went 1-for-9 from three-point range.
Second Half
- McDermed canned a three-pointer coming out of halftime to push Vassar in front by 17 points.
- After the Pioneers got the disadvantage back to 12 points, Vassar got a second three-pointer from McDermed to spread the lead back to 45-30.
- William Paterson would not get closer than 12 points again in the game with Vassar pulling ahead by as many as 19 points on a Caroline Siekman (Islesboro, ME) put back in the closing seconds of the third quarter.
- Vassar's lead ballooned to 61-41 on a Harvey triple early in the fourth period.
- The advantage grew to as many as 22 points when McDermed converted a layup at the 6:22 mark of the fourth period.
- Vassar cooled to 33.3-percent shooting after halftime and went 3-for-10 from behind the arc.
- William Paterson shot 45.2-percent from the floor after halftime and knocked down a pair of three-pointers.
- Vassar outscored the Pioneers 14-4 from the free-throw line after halftime.
For The Brewers
- Harvey finished the game 6-for-17 from the floor with four triples on her way to a game-high 25 points. Harvey rounded out the win with three rebounds and three assists.
- McDermed added a season-high 22 points, going 5-for-6 from the floor and 10-for-13 from the free-throw line. McDermed posted a double-double with 10 rebounds and led the team with five assists to go along with a pair of blocks.
- Siekman reached double-figures off the bench for the second straight game, totaling 12 points, six rebounds and a trio of blocked shots.
- Gelb collected 10 rebounds for the Brewers and handed out two assists.
- Bella Tawney (Simsbury, CT) hauled in six rebounds and chipped in four points and two assists.
For The Pioneers
- Renee Wells, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, led the team with 17 points and added four rebounds and a pair of steals.
- Patty Walsh recorded 12 points and five rebounds.
- Chiera scored 10 points and handed out two assists.
- Jasmine Sullivan led the team with six rebounds.
Game Statistics
- Vassar closed the day shooting 40.4-percent overall and went 7-for-20 from three-point range.
- William Paterson shot 37.3-percent and went 3-for-15 from bonus distance.
- The Brewers outscored William Paterson 25-6 from the free-throw line.
- The Brewers held a 22-16 advantage in paint points.
- Vassar outscored William Paterson 16-11 off of turnovers and 17-12 in second chance points.
What's Next
- Vassar continues its season opening home stand on Tuesday when it plays host to #22/23 New Paltz.
- William Paterson hosts Medgar Evers on Wednesday.
