NEWARK, NJ – Julia Harvey poured in a game-high 20 points and shot an even 50-percent from the floor as the Vassar College Women’s Basketball team closed non-conference play with its eighth straight victory on Saturday with a convincing 63-40 road win at Rutgers-Newark.
Saturday’s victory pushes the Brewers to 9-1 overall on the season while the Scarlet Raiders fall to 2-11 overall.
First Half
The Brewers trailed briefly in the early going on Saturday, but a 7-0 run erased a 2-0 deficit and pushed Vassar in front for good in the contest.
Vassar pushed its advantage to double-figures for the first time when Maddie Ahearn canned a three-pointer at the 2:57 mark of the opening period to give the Brewers a 14-4 lead.
The first quarter lead ballooned to 19-4 on a Caroline Siekman layup at the 2:00 mark before the Scarlet Raiders scored four of the final five points of the period to cut the Brewers’ lead to 20-8 through 10 minutes of play.
Vassar opened the second stanza with a 10-4 spurt to surge in front 30-12 on a Harvey triple 3:58 into the quarter.
The advantage grew to a half-high 19 points, at 33-14, on a conventional three-point play from Harvey with 3:46 left in the first half.
The Harvey conversion with be Vassar’s last scoring of the quarter, but the defense held Rutgers-Newark to just four points of the final 4:34 of the half to carry a 33-16 lead into the intermission.
Vassar shot 34.5-percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes and went 4-for-12 from three-point range.
Rutgers-Newark was held to 25.9-percent shooting in the first half and was held without a three-pointer in six attempts.
Second Half
The two teams played an even third period with each side scoring 14 points.
Vassar was held off the board until a Bella Tawney bucket at the 7:22 mark of the period, but the advantage never dipped below 13 points.
A Naiya Kurnik jumper with 31 seconds left in the frame sent Vassar to the fourth quarter with a 47-30 lead.
A three-point play from Kurnik to open the fourth quarter scoring pushed the Vassar advantage to 50-30.
The lead grew to a game-high 29 points, at 62-33, on a Sophia Ippolito three-pointer with 4:20 left in the contest.
Vassar was held off the board for the final 3:11 of the contest, but did not allow the Scarlet Raiders closer than the final 23-point decision.
Vassar improved to 46.4-percent shooting after halftime and connected on a pair of second half three-pointers.
Rutgers-Newark was limited to 22.2-percent shooting and a 1-for-6 effort from three-point range.
For The Brewers
Harvey reached the 20-point plateau for the third time this season, going 7-for-14 from the floor and 3-for-6 from three-point range. Harvey added a team-high eight rebounds and swiped three steals.
Kurnik closed the victory with eight points, six rebounds and a trio of assists.
Tawney chipped in eight points, five caroms and a pair of blocked shots.
Tova Gelb contributed six points, seven rebounds and a game-high four assists.
Ahearn came off the bench to score eight points and secure four rebounds.
Siekman wrapped up the victory with six points and four boards.
For The Scarlet Raiders
Ebony Odom-Barnes led the scoring attack with 12 points, adding five rebounds and two steals.
Raihanna Adbus-Salaam came off the bench to score 10 points.
Samiyah Horton led all players in the game with four steals.
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