Poughkeepsie, NY – Behind a career-high 21 points from First Year
Lindsey Shoulders (Glen Allen, VA) and 18 points from senior
Sierra McDermed (San Antonio, TX), the Vassar College Women's Basketball team opened Liberty League play on Friday with a tight 60-58 home win over Ithaca.
Friday's victory moves Vassar to 2-3 overall on the season and 1-0 in conference play, while Ithaca drops to 2-5 overall and 0-1 against conference foes.
How It Happened
- Vassar never trailed in the first half after opening a 4-0 lead on buckets from Shoulders and McDermed in the first 1:46 of the game.
- The Brewers held a lead as large as six points on three occasions in the first quarter, including on a McDermed jumper in the final 90 seconds to give Vassar a 12-6 advantage.
- Ithaca came back with the final four points of the period, getting buckets from Natalie Tucker and Grace McNamara, to cut the Vassar lead to 12-10 through 10 minutes.
- A Maureen Regan (Oak Lawn, IL) three-pointer early in the second frame pushed Vassar in front 18-10.
- The lead grew to double-figures for the first time on a Shoulders conversion with just over five minutes left before halftime.
- Vassar grabbed a game-high 13 point advantage, at 27-14, on a Sophia Ippolito (Cumberland Center, ME) free-throw, before the Brewers carried a 27-15 lead into the intermission.
- The Brewers shot 37.5-percent over the opening 20 minutes, but struggled from behind the arc after going just 1-for-9.
- Ithaca shot 24-percent prior to the break and went without a triple in six attempts.
- Vassar held a lead as large as 10 points twice in the third frame, including on a Shoulders bucket that made the score 37-27 with 1:14 left in the period.
- After going without a three-pointer in the first half, Ithaca canned four triples in the third quarter, including three straight in the final 63 seconds to slice the Vassar lead to 40-36 with 10 minutes left to play.
- Tucker opened the fourth quarter scoring with a triple to bring Ithaca to within 40-29 with 9:46 left to play.
- Vassar spread its lead back to six points on a Shoulders three-point play and surged in front 49-42 on another Shoulders bucket with 5:45 left.
- Ithaca scored eight straight points after the Shoulders basket to grab its first lead of the game when Madison Gill made the score 51-49 with 3:11 left.
- After getting back in front 55-52, Vassar saw Ithaca get back-to-back buckets, including a Tori Drevna conversion, that gave the Bombers a 56-55 lead in the final minute.
- Coming out of a timeout, McDermed hit a jumper to give Vassar the lead back with 35 ticks left.
- The two sides would trade free-throws in the final nine seconds with a pair of Regan conversions giving the Brewers the final two-point advantage.
- Vassar improved to 43.3-percent shooting in the second half and went 1-for-8 from three-point range.
- Ithaca shot 51.6-percent in the second half, including 5-for-8 from three-point range.
For The Brewers
- Shoulders posted her second career double-double and scored in double-figures for the third time in five games. Shoulders closed the game 8-for-14 from the floor on her way to a career-high 21 points and hauled in 11 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass.
- McDermed scored 18 points for the Brewers on 8-for-13 shooting and finished the win with eight boards, an assist and a steal.
- Regan led the team with three assists and four steals and chipped in six points.
- Erin Lovett (Norwalk, CT) collected seven rebounds and recorded four points.
For The Bombers
- Tucker led the way with 14 points and three assists.
- Drevna totaled 12 points and five rebounds.
- McNamara and Avery McPeek each scored eight points with McPeek totaling six rebounds.
Game Statistics
- Vassar closed the game shooting 40.7-percent, but went 2-for-17 from three-point range.
- Ithaca converted at 39.3-percent and went 5-for-14 from behind the arc.
- Vassar outscored Ithaca 14-9 from the free-throw line.
- The Brewers finished with a 34-24 advantage in paint points.
- The Brewers collected 14 offensive rebounds, leading to a 17-4 edge in second chance scoring.
What's Next
- Vassar plays host to William Smith Saturday afternoon.
- Ithaca heads to Skidmore on Saturday.
