Vassar Women Unable to Overcome Slow Start

POTSDAM — The Vassar College women’s basketball team (11-12, 8-6 Liberty) couldn’t overcome a slow start, ultimately falling 81-75 at Clarkson University (14-9, 9-5 Liberty) on Saturday, 81-75.

Ariella Rosenthal poured in 21 points, Nicole Teta added 18 and Sophie Nick finished with 14 to round out VC’s top scorers.

The Brewers shot 46 percent from the floor, 41 percent from distance and 67 percent from the line, while holding the home team to 43, 27 and 80 percent, respectively. The Golden Knights were able to capitalize on turnovers, forcing 23 Brewer giveaways for 28 points.
Devin Sorell scored 34 points, Madison Shea had 12 and Stephanie Grobe tallied 11. Alyssia Marsal finished with a team-high seven boards, as the Golden Knights were out-rebounded by the Brewers, 43-32.

Vassar was slow out of the gate, getting outscored 30-12 in the first quarter. After Nick connected on a layup for a 6-2 advantage at the 7:44 mark, the Brewers were held without a field goal for the following 6:24. Teta ended the drought with a layup before hitting a pair from the line pull Vassar as close as 30-12 to end the period.

The Brewers opened the second stanza with a 8-2 run to get as close as 32-20 before the Golden Knights extended their lead to as many as 18, 38-20.

Rosenthal scored five straight points for the Brewers to pull them within single digits, 40-31, but the Golden Knights ultimately carried a double-digit, 47-37, lead into the break, as Sorell scored three from the line in the final seconds.

The sides played fairly even in the second half. The Brewers used a 10-2 run in the final frame to pull as close as three, 68-65, on Teta’s triple at the 2:49 mark, but that was the closest they came to flipping the lead.

Vassar concludes its three-game-road trip at Bard College on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 6 p.m.