Jan 07, 2012
Box Score
SCHENECTADY, NY (January 7, 2012) – For the second time this season, a steal and subsequent basket from sophomore guard Cydni Matsuoka, lifted the Vassar College women's basketball team from a potential loss to a comeback victory, as the Brewers defeated Union College 61-58 in Liberty League action on Saturday afternoon at the Viniar Center.
With Vassar down 58-57 with 55 seconds to play, Matsuoka stole the ball from Union sophomore guard Brittney Kenney and two seconds later knocked home a layup for the winning basket. Matsuoka connected on two free throws with a second to play for the 61-58 Vassar win. Matsuoka had performed similar heroics in Vassar's 69-67 victory over Hunter College on December 6, 2011.
Matsuoka's quick reflexes and basketball acumen was the difference in crunch time. "I read the defense, got my hand on the ball, tipped it toward our basket and made the layup, said Matsuoka, who led the Brewers with 25 points on 8 of 16 shooting from the field, including 5 of 11 from 3-point distance. She also grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds from her guard slot. "Union is a physical team, they play hard all the time," said Matsuoka. "It was a battle, a very close game, but I'll take the win."
With the victory, the Brewers snap a three-game losing streak and improve to 7-3, 1-1. Union falls to 4-6, 0-2. Vassar will next host Bard College in Liberty League action at the Athletics & Fitness Center on January 10 at 6:00 pm, while Union travels to William Smith for its next league contest on January 10.
Down by as many as nine points (25-16) in the first half, the Brewers, behind seven points each from Matsuoka and freshman forward Colleen O'Connell, took a 26-25 lead at intermission. It set up a tightly-contested second half, one that saw the Brewers largest lead grow to 34-29 following a jumper from senior guard Brittany Parks with 18:09 to play. The second half was tied eight times, the last coming with 3:46 to play when a Matsuoka 3-pointer evened the contest at 55-55.
The next two minutes featured back-and-forth scoring, with Union nudging ahead 56-55 following a single free throw shot from senior forward Rachel Beaulac. Vassar answered with a go-ahead jumper from senior forward Kristyn Tempora with 2:44 to play, only to surrender that lead at the 2:17 mark when Union's Kenney connected on a layup for a 58-57 Dutchwomen lead.
Matsuoka, who played the entire 40 minutes, had her only turnover of the game occur with 1:19 to play. She quickly redeemed herself with her own steal off Kenney with 55 seconds to play, followed by her game-winning layup.
"Cydni is the most solid thing we have going on," said head coach Candice Brown. "But overall, this victory was a team effort because at any given moment anyone on the team can step up and lead us to victory."
Matsuoka's 25 points was the 12th time in her career that she has surpassed the 20-point mark and her eight assists was the third highest in her career. For Vassar, O'Connell finished with nine points, Tempora and Parks eight each.
Union was led by a 15-point, 7-rebound performance from Kenney and 11 points from freshman guard Meghan Erdman.
SCHENECTADY, NY (January 7, 2012) – For the second time this season, a steal and subsequent basket from sophomore guard Cydni Matsuoka, lifted the Vassar College women's basketball team from a potential loss to a comeback victory, as the Brewers defeated Union College 61-58 in Liberty League action on Saturday afternoon at the Viniar Center.
With Vassar down 58-57 with 55 seconds to play, Matsuoka stole the ball from Union sophomore guard Brittney Kenney and two seconds later knocked home a layup for the winning basket. Matsuoka connected on two free throws with a second to play for the 61-58 Vassar win. Matsuoka had performed similar heroics in Vassar's 69-67 victory over Hunter College on December 6, 2011.
Matsuoka's quick reflexes and basketball acumen was the difference in crunch time. "I read the defense, got my hand on the ball, tipped it toward our basket and made the layup, said Matsuoka, who led the Brewers with 25 points on 8 of 16 shooting from the field, including 5 of 11 from 3-point distance. She also grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds from her guard slot. "Union is a physical team, they play hard all the time," said Matsuoka. "It was a battle, a very close game, but I'll take the win."
With the victory, the Brewers snap a three-game losing streak and improve to 7-3, 1-1. Union falls to 4-6, 0-2. Vassar will next host Bard College in Liberty League action at the Athletics & Fitness Center on January 10 at 6:00 pm, while Union travels to William Smith for its next league contest on January 10.
Down by as many as nine points (25-16) in the first half, the Brewers, behind seven points each from Matsuoka and freshman forward Colleen O'Connell, took a 26-25 lead at intermission. It set up a tightly-contested second half, one that saw the Brewers largest lead grow to 34-29 following a jumper from senior guard Brittany Parks with 18:09 to play. The second half was tied eight times, the last coming with 3:46 to play when a Matsuoka 3-pointer evened the contest at 55-55.
The next two minutes featured back-and-forth scoring, with Union nudging ahead 56-55 following a single free throw shot from senior forward Rachel Beaulac. Vassar answered with a go-ahead jumper from senior forward Kristyn Tempora with 2:44 to play, only to surrender that lead at the 2:17 mark when Union's Kenney connected on a layup for a 58-57 Dutchwomen lead.
Matsuoka, who played the entire 40 minutes, had her only turnover of the game occur with 1:19 to play. She quickly redeemed herself with her own steal off Kenney with 55 seconds to play, followed by her game-winning layup.
"Cydni is the most solid thing we have going on," said head coach Candice Brown. "But overall, this victory was a team effort because at any given moment anyone on the team can step up and lead us to victory."
Matsuoka's 25 points was the 12th time in her career that she has surpassed the 20-point mark and her eight assists was the third highest in her career. For Vassar, O'Connell finished with nine points, Tempora and Parks eight each.
Union was led by a 15-point, 7-rebound performance from Kenney and 11 points from freshman guard Meghan Erdman.