Poughkeepsie, NY – The Vassar College Women's Basketball team dropped its first home game of the season Friday evening following a 52-41 defeat by visiting RPI. Senior
Maddie Ahearn (Bethlehem, PA) paced the Brewers with a team and season-high 11 points.
Friday's loss stops a 13-game winning streak against RPI and marks the Brewers' first loss to the Engineers since a 49-45 defeat on the road back on January 12, 2018. Vassar slips to 7-8 overall and 6-2 in conference play following Friday's result while the Engineers improve to 11-5 overall and 6-3 against league rivals.
How It Happened
- Vassar scored the first four points of the contest and later jumped in front 10-5 on a pair of Elodie Ware (Columbus, OH) free-throws with 5:17 left in the opening frame.
- RPI got the next five points to knot the score at 10-10 before the two teams traded the lead three times in the final 3:42.
- Emery Mullen (Charlton, MA) pushed Vassar in front through 10 minutes after a pair of free-throws sent Vassar to the second frame with a 14-13 lead.
- Following a Ware jumper gave Vassar a three-point lead to open the second frame, Siena Smith canned a three-pointer to knot the score at 16-16.
- Maureen Regan (Oak Lawn, NJ) buried a triple at the 5:46 mark of the second frame to push Vassar in front 19-16, a shot that started an 11-2 run to close the second quarter.
- Ahearn buried a three-pointer with 1:48 left in the quarter that sent the two teams to the intermission with Vassar leading 27-18.
- Vassar shot 45.5-percent overall in the first half and went 2-for-5 from three-point range.
- RPI was held to 30.4-percent shooting in the first half with a pair of three-pointers.
- Both teams turned the ball over 10 times before halftime with Vassar holding an 11-6 edge in points off of miscues.
- RPI came out of halftime and went 10-for-14 from the floor in the third quarter on its way to outscoring Vassar 22-8.
- The Engineers scored 11 of the first 13 points of the third period to knot the score at 29-29 on a Tyler Hormazabal bucket with 4:52 left in the frame.
- Vassar would get a Sierra McDermed (San Antonio, TX) conversion to retake a 31-29 lead, before RPI closed the stanza on an 11-4 run to grab a 40-35 lead through three quarters.
- After being held to eight points in the third quarter, Vassar managed just six points in the final frame on Friday.
- A Sophie Costello bucket at the 5:00 mark of the fourth quarter gave RPI a 46-37 advantage.
- The RPI lead grew to double-figures for the first time on a Niamh Gendron layup before grabbing the final and game-high 11-point advantage on a Hormazabal free-throw in the final half minute.
- Vassar was limited to 27.3-percent shooting after halftime and went 0-for-3 from three-point range.
- RPI shot a blistering 63.6-percent over the final 20 minutes to pull away for the win.
For The Brewers
- Ahearn was the only Brewer in double-figures, reaching 11 points on a 5-for-9 shooting effort. Ahearn chipped in a rebound and an assist for the Brewers.
- Regan contributed nine points for Vassar and a team-high seven rebounds.
- Ware scored six points, collected three rebounds and blocked three shots.
- Sophia Ippolito (Cumberland Center, ME), McDermed and Ava Gurley (Austin, TX) all handed out two assists.
- Mullen led the team with three steals.
For The Engineers
- Smith led three Engineers in double-figures with 13 points and closed a strong night with two assists, three blocks and three steals.
- Gendron scored 12 points and led the team with eight rebounds to go along with three blocks and a pair of assists.
- Hormazabal tallied 11 points, hauled in six rebounds and swiped four steals.
- Brooke Boyle scored eight points, led the team with three assists and added four rebounds and two steals.
Game Statistics
- Vassar shot 36.4-percent for the game and finished 2-for-8 from three-point range.
- RPI finished the night shooting 46.7-percent and was 3-for-8 from behind the arc.
- The Brewers turned the ball over a season-high 23 times leading to a 21 RPI points.
- RPI closed the contest with a 32-22 edge in points in the paint.
What's Next
- Vassar looks to rebound Saturday afternoon when it plays host to Bard.
- RPI makes the trip to William Smith on Saturday.
