Vassar Loses Tight Battle With William Smith, 69-65

POUGHKEEPSIE — In a game that featured 11 ties and 17 lead changes, the Vassar College women’s basketball team (5-8, 2-2 Liberty) saw its two-game winning streak snap against William Smith (8-3, 2-0) at the Athletics & Fitness Center on Saturday, 69-65.

Sophie Nick led Vassar with 19 points, as one of four Brewers to reach double figures in the scoring column. Maeve Sussman tallied 11 points, Isa Peczuh added 10 points and Kim Romanoff finished with 10 points and a team-best nine boards.

The Brewers shot 39 percent from the floor, 33 percent (5-of-15) from deep and 71 percent from the stripe, as their visitors shot 39, 27 (4-of-15) and 50 percent, respectively.
Mia Morrison poured in 23 points with 12 rebounds, while Melanie Patterson added 19 points and five rebounds, as the only Herons to notch double-digit scoring.

Similar to Friday’s win over Rochester Institute of Technology, the first half was neck-and-neck against William Smith, featuring six ties and 11 lead changes. Neither side led by more than five points at any given time.

Vassar ripped off a 7-2 spurt that bridged over the first and second quarters. Peczuh capped the run with a triple to give the Brewers their largest lead to that point, 22-18, with 7:45 remaining in the half.

But William Smith countered with an 11-2 burst of its own to take its largest lead that that point, 29-24, with 6:24 to go in the half.

The Herons led by five twice more thereafter before the Brewers ripped off a 10-2 run to take a 42-39 advantage with about five minutes remaining in the third quarter. Peczuh and Nick highlighted the surge with back-to-back triples.

The Brewers’ hot hand continued throughout the period, as they later used another 10-2 run to take their largest lead of the game, 52-44, with 1:47 remaining. Nick capped the burst with back-to-back buckets.

William Smith continued to chip away, using a 16-6 run to flip the lead on Olivia Hughes’ jumper, 60-58, with 3:48 remaining in regulation.

Romanoff found Jackie Cenan for a jumper and hit a pair of free throws to tie it twice more — once at 60-all and another at 62-all. The sides traded baskets, and Vassar took its final lead of the game on Romanoff’s layup from Ariella Rosenthal, 65-64, with 1:21 to go.

William Smith’s Alyssa DiCampli hit a dagger three with 46 seconds to go, and the Herons hit their final two free throws to notch their seventh win in eight games.