POUGHKEEPSIE – Senior Tova Gelb and First Year Erin Lovett posted double-doubles, leading the Vassar College Women’s Basketball team to a 58-51 overtime victory over Mount Saint Mary Saturday afternoon in the team’s final non-conference game of the season.
Vassar improves to 6-4 and won its third straight game over Mount Saint Mary in the two sides’ first meeting since 2018. The Knights’ loss drops them to 5-6 overall on the season.
First Half
After the Brewers scored the first four points of the game, Mount Saint Mary ran off 19 of the final 23 points of the first quarter to take a 19-8 lead through 10 minutes of play.
The Knights grabbed their first lead of the game when Brianna Guglielmo canned a three-pointer to push the Knights in front 5-4 just 1:34 into the contest.
The Mount Saint Mary lead grew to double-figures for the first time with 2:05 left in the period when a Sara Cashin converted a three-point play to make the score 19-8.
A Guglielmo triple to open the second period scoring pushed the Knights in front 22-8.
The Vassar disadvantage remained in double-figures until the 2:11 mark of the second frame when a Sierra McDermed three-pointer sliced the Knights’ lead to 22-15.
The visitors pushed the lead back to 28-15 on an Elizabeth Lofaro jumper in the final minute before a Maddie Ahearn conversion with 41 seconds left before halftime brought Vassar to within 28-17 at the break.
Vassar was held to 17.2-percnt shooting over the opening 20 minutes and went just 1-for-12 from behind the arc.
Mount Saint Mary shot 44.4-percent for the half and knocked down two of its six three-point attempts.
McDermed led the Brewers with five points at the break.
Guglielmo led all players with 10 first half points for the Knights.
Second Half
Vassar came out of the break with a 7-0 spurt to cut its disadvantage to 28-24 on a Julia Harvey jumper with 6:58 left in the third stanza.
The Mount Saint Mary lead was later whittled down to 30-27 on a Gelb three-point play with 4:34 remaining in the period.
Mount Saint Mary responded with an 8-3 stretch to end the quarter to carry a 38-30 advantage into the fourth frame.
Vassar surged to a 11-1 run to open the fourth quarter, to grab its first lead since the 8:44 mark of the first period, capped by a Tash Thompson layup with 3:22 left in regulation to give Vassar a 41-40 lead.
Mount Saint Mary regained a one-point lead on an Angelina Donato bucket with 39 seconds left and spread its lead to 44-41 on a pair of Donato free-throws with 21 seconds left in the stanza.
Following a pair of missed free-throws, Gelb canned a three-pointer in the closing seconds to knot the score at 44-44.
Mount Saint Mary had a look at the horn to win the game, but the three-point attempt fell short.
Vassar improved to 37-percent shooting over the third and four stanzas.
Mount Saint Mary went 6-for-39 from the floor over the final 20 minutes of regulation time.
Overtime
Vassar outscored Mount Saint Mary 14-7 in the extra frame on the strength of 10 made free-throws.
The Brewers’ defense limited the visitors to 1-for-16 shooting in the overtime period, including a 1-for-9 effort from behind the arc.
The Brewers gained the lead for good with a 5-0 run to start overtime, highlighted by a three-point play from Lovett.
A pair of Ahearn free-throws with 20 seconds left pushed Vassar in front by a game-high 57-48 margin.
Thompson knocked down a free-throw in the final five seconds to secure the win and give Vassar the final seven-point decision.
For The Brewers
Making her first career start, Lovett posted career-highs with 11 points and 11 rebounds on Saturday. Lovett added an assist, a blocked shot a pair of steals in the victory.
Gelb posted her fifth double-double of the season, netting a game-high 16 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Gelb also contributed two assists, three blocks and a steal to the winning effort.
Ahearn and McDermed each netted eight points and collected four rebounds for the Brewers. Ahearn notched two assists and a block, while McDermed swatted a career-high seven shots.
Harvey finished the win with seven points and five boards.
Maureen Regan swiped four steals to lead Vassar on Saturday.
For The Knights
Guglielmo finished with 10 points to go along with nine rebounds and a pair of steals.
Lauren Petrie, Casey Love and Shannon Phelan all grabbed 10 rebounds, with Phelan posting nine points off the bench.
Donato led the team with 11 points and added eight caroms.
Margaret Trinkaus blocked a team-high three shots.
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