SPRINGFIELD, MA – Sierra McDermed led four Brewers in double figures and First Year Mo Regan netted a career-high 13 points as the Vassar College Women’s Basketball team earned a 72-65 win over Salve Regina in its first game of the Western New England Tip-off Tournament Friday night.
Friday’s victory moves Vassar to 2-1 overall on the season and gives the Brewers a victory in their first ever meeting with the Seahawks.
First Half
The Brewers got off to a fast start, scoring nine of the first 11 points of the game, including a three-pointer from Tova Gelb.
Vassar grew its lead to 12-4 on a McDermed triple with 6:40 left in the opening stanza.
A Julia Harvey layup with 5:26 left in the opening period gave the Brewers a 14-6 lead.
Salve Regina answered with the next seven points to close to within 14-13 on a Briana Neary layup.
The Seahawks would knot the score at 15-15 and 17-17 before a Caroline Siekman bucket in the closing seconds of the first quarter gave Vassar a 19-17 advantage.
Vassar shot 8-for-16 from the floor in the first 10 minutes and knocked down a pair of three-pointers.
After trading the lead in the early stages of the second frame, Salve Regina grabbed a 27-23 advantage on a Morgan Shuey jumper at the midway point of the quarter.
Vassar answered with an 8-0 run highlighted by a three-point play and a triple from Regan that gave the Brewers a 31-27 advantage before taking a 31-28 lead into the intermission.
The Brewers cooled to 38.5-percent shooting in the second frame and finished the half converting at 44.8-percent overall.
Salve Regina shot 33.3-percent from the floor and outscored Vassar 5-2 from the free-throw line prior to halftime.
Second Half
After scoring 31 points over the opening 20 minutes, Vassar erupted for 27 points in the third stanza, going 11-for-18 from the floor.
Vassar scored the first six points of the second half to open a 37-28 lead on a Harvey jumper just 52 seconds into the third quarter.
The Brewers lead reached double-figures for the first time on a Siekman lay-in that grew the advantage to 44-34.
A Naiya Kurnik three-point play with 3:11 left in the quarter expanded the Brewers lead to 52-39.
After Salve Regina got its disadvantage under double-figures late in the quarter, Regan converted a layup at the horn to send Vassar into the fourth quarter with a 58-47 lead.
A Sam Lederman triple early in the fourth period gave the Brewers their largest lead at 63-49 and they would not allow Salve Regina closer than the final seven-point decision the rest of the way.
Vassar shot an efficient 54.6-percent in the fourth period and connected on a pair of three-pointers.
Vassar shot a blistering 58.6-percent over the final 20 minutes while holding Salve Regina to under 40-percent in the second half.
For The Brewers
McDermed led a balanced scoring attack with 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting. McDermed added seven rebounds and a pair of steals to the winning effort.
Regan came off the bench to go 5-for-8 from the floor with a pair of three-pointers, adding a trio of rebounds.
Gelb scored in double-figures for the third straight game, finishing with 12 points, six rebounds and four steals.
Harvey tallied 10 points and collected a pair of rebounds.
Bella Tawney secured five rebounds, led the team with five assists and chipped in four points.
Siekman totaled six points and collected three rebounds.
Kurnik finished with six points, four rebounds and two assists.
For The Seahawks
Shuey, Ashley Roarke and Sofia Neary all scored 14 points with Shuey closing a big night with six rebounds and a game-high nine assists.
B. Neary chipped in 12 points, three boards and three assists.
Olivia Martin came off the bench to add nine points and three assists.
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