Vassar Brewers Topple Over St. Lawrence, 68-51

POUGHKEEPSIE – Julia Harvey led three players in double-figures with a game-high 20 points and sophomore Caroline Siekman collected a career-high 11 rebounds as the Vassar College Women’s Basketball team pulled away for its ninth straight win, a 68-51 triumph over visiting St. Lawrence.

Friday’s win pushes Vassar to 10-1 overall on the season, 4-0 in Liberty League play and a perfect 5-0 at home to date. The win is the third straight for the Brewers over the Saints and the fourth in the last five meetings between the two programs.

First Half
After trading the lead over the first half of the opening period, Vassar used a 6-0 spurt to open a 13-8 lead on a Maddie Ahearn bucket with 2:08 left in the quarter.

After the Saints cut the deficit back to just 13-12, Ahearn canned a three-pointer with 35 seconds left to give the Brewers a 16-12 advantage through 10 minutes of play.

The Brewers used a 10-0 run covering just over four minutes in the second frame to open a 28-14 lead on a Sierra McDermed fast break conversion with 2:29 left before halftime.

Harvey scored five points in the final 1:57 of the first half, including a three-pointer that gave Vassar a half-high 33-16 lead, before the Brewers went into the break with a 33-18 advantage.

Vassar closed the opening 20 minutes converting at 41.7-percent from the floor despite a 3-for-11 effort from behind the three-point arc.

The Brewers’ defense stifled the Saints in the first half, allowing St. Lawrence to shoot just 20.6-percent overall, including a 2-for-15 mark from three-point range.

Second Half
The Brewers came out of halftime and opened a game-high 37-18 lead on a pair of McDermed conversions over the opening 90 seconds of the third period.

St. Lawrence answered with a 14-0 stretch, highlighted by nine points from Elizabeth Flynn, to slice the Brewers advantage to 37-32 halfway through the third quarter.

Vassar stopped the run with a Tova Gelb conversion and regained a double-figure lead, at 45-34, on a Harvey jumper with 2:30 left in the period.

The Saints pulled back to within six points late in the period, but three straight free-throws closed the quarter for the Brewers and sent them to the fourth quarter leading 48-39.

Vassar outscored St. Lawrence by eight in the final frame and shot nearly 53-percent from the floor over the final 10 minutes.

A Gelb triple with 6:53 left in the contest pushed the Brewers in front 58-42.

Vassar matched its game-high advantage when Gelb converted a layup with just under two minutes left to play to give the Brewers a 68-49 lead.

The Vassar defense held St. Lawrence to just two points over the final 3:29 of the game to secure the final 17-point decision.

For The Brewers
Harvey led all scorers in the game and reached the 20-point mark for the second straight game and fourth time this season. Harvey went 8-for-16 from the floor with a pair of three-pointers to go along with eight rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.

McDermed finished the victory with 14 points on 7-for-12 shooting, adding three rebounds.
Gelb reached double-figures with 13 points on a 6-for-12 effort from the floor to go along with six rebounds.

Siekman reached double-figures in rebounds for the first time as a Brewer, hauling in a game and career-high 11 caroms. Siekman added two assists, a block and two points for Vassar.

Ahearn and Naiya Kurnik each tallied seven points with Kurnik hauling in six rebounds.
Bella Tawney closed out the night with four points, five boards and a trio of assists.

For The Saints
Flynn led the visitors with 11 points and equaled the game-high with 11 rebounds.

Caelan McHarney led all players with four assists and chipped in six points.

Jackie Malley and Hannah Van Dyke each scored six points for St. Lawrence.