Lexington, VA – The Vassar College Women's Basketball team saw its 2023-24 season come to a close Friday night following a tough 68-61 loss at #19/9 Washington and Lee in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.
Sierra McDermed (San Antonio, TX) led three players in double-figures with a team-high 25 points.
Friday's loss closes the Brewers' season at 25-3, while the Generals improve to 27-2.
First Half
- The Brewers shot just 23.1-percent over the course of the opening 20 minutes and trailed heading into the intermission 34-26.
- Washington and Lee sophomore Mary Schleusner scored 24 of the team's 34 points prior to halftime, going 11-for-17 from the floor.
- Vassar got off to a good start in the contest, opening an 8-4 advantage on a Julia Harvey (Delmar, NY) three-pointer at the 7:20 mark of the first frame.
- The Generals came back with an 8-0 run to surge in front 12-8 on a Cat Pettegrove bucket with 2:40 left in the first quarter.
- Vassar responded with four straight points from Bella Tawney (Simsbury, CT) to pull even at 12-12 with 73 seconds left in the quarter.
- A Schleusner bucket in the final half minute of the period pushed Washington and Lee in front by a slim 14-12 margin through 10 minutes of play.
- The Generals got back-to-back baskets from Schleusner to open an 18-12 advantage early in the second quarter.
- After a Naiya Kurnik (Fallbrook, CA) free-throw, Washington and Lee used a 6-0 spurt to push the lead to double-figures for the first time at 28-17.
- The Brewers would pull back to within six points following a McDermed bucket and a pair of free-throws from Maddie Ahearn (Bethlehem, PA) with 40 seconds left in the half.
- Washington and Lee closed the opening 20 minutes with a pair of Quinn McGuinness conversions from the line to carry a 34-26 lead into the halftime intermission.
- Washington and Lee shot 42.9-percent from the floor in the opening half despite an 0-for-7 mark from three-point range.
Second Half
- The Generals grabbed 12-point lead early in the third quarter when Schleusner converted a layup to move the lead to 40-28.
- The advantage for Washington and Lee grew to a game-high 13 points when Hannah Malik buried the team's first three-pointer of the game at the 6:08 mark of the third quarter to move the lead to 43-30.
- Vassar battled back to within 47-40 on a Tova Gelb (Sharon, MA) three-pointer with 1:42 left in the period.
- Gelb would connect on another triple in the final minute of the third frame to make the score 50-43 with 10 minutes left to play.
- After making just nine field goals over the opening 20 minutes, Vassar converted seven buckets in the third frame.
- Vassar sliced its disadvantage to just 54-49 with 6:34 left to play on a Harvey three-pointer.
- Washington and Lee would not allow Vassar closer than the five-point margin the rest of the way and used a 7-0 run, capped by a Schleusner three-point play, to regain a 61-49 lead with 3:40 left to play.
- Another conversion from Schleusner conversion with 2:33 left to play matched the game-high lead for the Generals, pushing them in front 66-53.
- Vassar closed the contest on an 8-2 run, getting triples from Kurnik and Ahearn and a pair of free-throws from McDermed, but could not climb closer than the final seven-point deficit.
- Vassar improved to 32.4-percent shooting after halftime and went 6-for-15 from behind the arc in the second half.
- The Brewers limited Washington and Lee to 35.1-percent shooting after halftime with the Generals going 3-for-10 from three-point range.
For The Brewers
- McDermed led the way for Vassar with 25 points, going 9-for-21 from the floor. McDermed just missed a double-double with a team-high nine rebounds and closed the contest with three assists, two blocks and a steal.
- Harvey scored 11 points for the Brewers, connecting on a trio of three-pointers, to go along with four rebounds and two assists.
- Gelb totaled 10 points and collected eight rebounds while posting three assists and a team-high four steals.
- Tawney collected seven rebounds and chipped in four points and a block.
- Ahearn scored five points off the bench and joined McDermed and Gelb with a team-high three assists.
- Caroline Siekman (Islesboro, ME) secured seven rebounds and assisted on a pair of buckets.
For The Generals
- Schleusner had a huge night for the Generals, scoring a program record 45 points and securing 29 rebounds. Schleusner finished off the victory with two assists, five steals and seven blocked shots. Schleusner completed the night 19-for-29 from the floor and secured 11 offensive rebounds.
- Malik contributed 11 points to the winning effort and made each of the team's three perimeter buckets to go along with five assists.
- McGuinness handed out five assists and hauled in six rebounds.
Game Statistics
- Vassar closed the night shooting 27.6-percent overall and went 9-for-27 from three-point range.
- Washington and Lee shot 38.9-percent and was held to 3-for-17 shooting from behind the arc.
- Vassar outscored Washington and Lee from the free-throw line 10-9.
- Vassar secured 19 offensive rebounds in the game and outscored the Generals 21-18 in second chance points.
- The Generals dominated the paint, outscoring Vassar 38-16 inside.
- The Generals finished with a 14-4 edge in transition points.
What's Next
- Washington and Lee hosts Catholic in Saturday's Second Round game scheduled for 7:15 p.m.
Game Notes: Vassar made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2019…Vassar now holds a 1-5 record all-time in the NCAA Tournament…Washington and Lee won its first ever game in the NCAA Tournament…McDermed's 25 points are the third highest point total in an NCAA Tournament game for Vassar, trailing only Cyndi Matsuoka (31) against Williams in 2014 and Caitlin Drakeley (28) against Scranton in 2014.
