Second Half Surge Sends Vassar to Eighth Victory

POUGHKEEPSIE – Junior Sierra McDermed scored a game-high 32 points and senior Tova Gelb posted 22 points as the Vassar College Women’s Basketball team won its eighth straight game with an 81-62 home victory over William Smith.

Vassar improves to 19-5 overall on the season and to 15-2 in conference play with the win and will take on Ithaca for the top seed in the conference tournament Saturday afternoon.

William Smith falls to 3-21 overall and 3-14 in conference play.

First Half
A tightly contested first 20 minutes saw the two teams head into the intermission deadlocked at 34-34.

The Brewers would manage a lead as large as three-points on four occasions in the opening stanza, before taking a 17-16 lead into the second frame.

The Brewers would gain some breathing room in the second frame when a 6-0 run pushed them in front 29-22 midway through the period.

William Smith answered with the next seven points to knot the score before Gelb gave Vassar a 31-29 lead with 2:36 left before halftime.

McDermed would connect on three free-throws in the final minute to push Vassar in front 34-31 with 22 seconds left in the half.

Trailing by three, Bridget McCleary canned the team’s seventh three-pointer of the half to knot the score of 34-34 at the break.

Vassar shot 32.4-percent from the field over the opening 20 minutes and struggled from three-point range, going just 2-for-12.

William Smith shot 38.2-percent overall in the first half, but converted at a blistering 7-for-13 clip from three-point range.

The Brewers outscored William Smith 8-1 from the free-throw line over the opening 20 minutes.

Second Half
Vassar shot nearly 53-percent from the floor in the third period and quickly opened a 39-34 lead on a three-point play from Erin Lovett just 42 seconds in the third quarter.

Vassar’s lead reached double-figures for the first time on a Gelb layup that made the score 48-38 with 4:43 left in the frame.

A Sophia Ippolito three-pointer started a 10-0 run to close the third quarter and give the Brewers a 58-40 lead heading into the final period.

McDermed pushed the score to 64-44 early in the fourth quarter with a layup and later gave the Brewers a game-high 71-46 lead on a pair of free-throws with 5:45 left to play.

The Brewers would not allow the Herons closer than 15 points the remainder of the night.

Vassar converted at an efficient 54.8-percent from the floor after halftime and went 3-for-8 from three-point range.

William Smith was held to 33.3-percent shooting after halftime and went 2-for-9 from behind the arc.

For The Brewers
McDermed posted her third 30-point performance of the season after going 11-for-21 from the floor with a trio of triples. McDermed converted seven of her eight free-throws and closed a big night with 10 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals.

Gelb added a double-double with 22 points, on 8-for-13 shooting, to go along with a game-high 15 rebounds. Gelb added three assists to the winning effort on Friday.

Lovett chipped in eight points and eight rebounds.

Julia Harvey finished with win with seven points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Ippolito added seven points off the bench and hauled in two rebounds.

For The Herons
Giana Lobozzo and Ameila McCulley each scored 13 points to lead the team with McCulley adding five blocked shots.

Miranda Martin scored 12 points off the bench for the Herons.