Poughkeepsie, NY – The top two seeds in the 2024 Liberty League Championship will get together Sunday afternoon at the Athletic and Fitness Center on the campus of Vassar College when the top-seeded #RV/23 Brewers host second seed Skidmore in the Championship Final. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. with Live Stats and Video available for those unable to attend.
At A Glance
Vassar enters Sunday's final with a 24-2 overall record following a 64-53 semifinal win over Union Friday night. The Brewers ripped of 21 straight victories from November 17 through February 10 and after stumbling at William Smith on the final Friday of the regular season, rebounded for a 66-59 road win at Ithaca a day later and an 11-point victory over Union in the semifinal round.
Following a 20-point performance on Friday against Union, junior
Tova Gelb (Sharon, MA) moved into a tie for the team lead in scoring with
Sierra McDermed (San Antonio, TX) with the duo each good for 14.3 points per game.
Julia Harvey (Delmar, NY) gives the Brewers a trio of players average better than 14 points with Harvey checking in with 14.1 points per night.
Gelb continued a career year in Friday's semifinal and currently leads the team in rebounding (9.1), assists (2.4), steals (1.9) and field goal percentage (.470). Gelb enters Sunday's final second in the conference in scoring and field goal percentage, third in steals, fourth in rebounding and eighth in assists.
McDermed paces the team in three-pointers made with 46 and is converting at an even 40-percent from behind the arc. Harvey has connected on 41 triples to date and the trio of Gelb, McDermed and Harvey ranks second, third and fourth in the conference in scoring.
Naiya Kurnik (Fallbrook, CA) is averaging just shy of eight points per game for the Brewers with
Bella Tawney (Simsbury, CT) good for 4.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per tilt.
Caroline Siekman (Islesboro, ME) comes off the bench to post 3.0 points per game, nearly two assists and 4.5 rebounds.
As a team, Vassar is scoring just under 68 points per game while allowing 52.7 per seven to its opponents. The Brewers rank second in the Liberty League in second in offense, defense, field goal percentage and three-point field goal percentage. The Brewers pace the league in scoring margin, topping opponents by 14.9 points per game.
A Look At Skidmore
The Thoroughbreds rank fourth in the country in scoring defense, allowing just over 45 points per game and sit sixth in turnovers per game with just over 12 miscues per conference. Skidmore sits atop the Liberty League standings in scoring defense and rank fourth in offense, scoring just over 59 points per game.
Individually, Julia Blanck averages a double-double for Skidmore, scoring 13.4 points per game and collecting 10.2 boards per game which ranks second in the conference. Blanck shoots 46.1-percent from the floor and converted at just shy of 78-percent from the free-throw line. Blanck leads the Liberty League with 2.3 blocks per game and paces the team with nearly two thefts per outing.
Andi Levitz has made a team-high 44 three-point field goals on the year and is shooting 35.5-percent from bonus distance. Cassie Davidson is second on the team in scoring with 7.2 points per game.
Regular Season Series
The Brewers handed the Thoroughbreds their only two conference losses of the season, winning in Poughkeepsie by a score of 64-51 on December 6 before battling to a 61-58 victory in Saratoga Springs on January 6.
In the home victory McDermed scored 20 points and completed a double-double with 10 rebounds with Tawney (13), Kurnik (12) and Harvey (10) all scoring in double-figures.
The Brewers shot 44.4-percent from the floor in the game and 47.1-percent from three-point range while holding Skidmore to 31.3-percent shooting and a 4-for-19 effort from three-point range. Vassar outscored Skidmore 16-5 from the free-throw line.
On the road, Gelb poured in 19 points and collected 11 rebounds with McDermed closing a strong game with 18 points, eight caroms, three blocks, two assists and two steals.
Vassar made just one three-pointer in the game and shot 37.8-percent overall, but held Skidmore to 28.4-percent shooting overall.
Recent History Vs. Skidmore
Since the start of the 1989-90 season, Vassar is 27-34 against Skidmore, but has won nine of the last 12 meets in the series. The home win this year stopped a three game slide against the Thoroughbreds.
Performers Of The Week
Vassar has been honored with seven Liberty League Performer of the Week honors, led by four citations for Gelb. Harvey was tabbed the Performer of the Week on January 2 and McDermed picked up weekly honors on December 11 and February 11.
First Time, Long Time
Vassar entered the WBCA Coaches Poll at #24 on January 30, marking the first time it had appeared in the poll since 2013. The Brewers rose as high as #20 on February 13 and have appeared in each of the last four rankings.
Regional Rankings
The Brewers have appeared in each of the first three NCAA Regional Rankings and have been ranked second in Region III in each of the last two weeks.
Recent Liberty League Championship History
Friday's semifinal marked the sixth straight year there has been a championship contested, no tournament in 2021, that the Brewers have qualified. Vassar will be in search of its first Liberty League crown since winning the title in 2014 and has advanced to its first Liberty League Final since 2020.
Head Coach
Meredith Mesaris is in her first season at the helm of the Women's Basketball team at Vassar and has improved the program's win total from 18 in 2022-23 to 24 to date in 2023-24.
A standout player at the Division III level at Scranton, Mesaris scored 1,758 career points. Mesaris was named the Landmark Player of the Year as a senior and was selected as a WBCA All-American twice.
Vassar is Mesaris' first head coaching position, but she has been on the sidelines as an assistant at Hendrix, Williams, Dartmouth and Hartford.
What's At Stake
Vassar is in search of its first title since topping St. Lawrence 64-60 in the 2014 Final, while Skidmore, the preseason favorite in the Liberty League is looking for back-to-back titles.
