St. Lawrence Holds Off Vassar Women's Hoop Late Run for 67-60 Liberty League Win

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Cydni Matsuoka
Sophomore guard Cydni Matsuoka led the Brewers with 16 points.
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POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (January 27, 2012) -- The Vassar College women's basketball team fought back from an 11-point second half deficit to take the lead over St. Lawrence with 9:55 to play, but the Saints answered with a goal-ahead basket and maintained their lead en route to a 67-60 victory over the Brewers on Friday night at the Athletics & Fitness Center.

After trailing 43-32 after five minutes of play in the second half, the Brewers fought back to take a 48-47 lead following a jumper shot by sophomore forward Hannah Senftleber off her own missed shot, but the Saints answered at the 8:19 mark with a layup by sophomore forward Kelly Legg for a 49-48 lead that held strong. Vassar was unable to get closer than 53-51 at the 5:12 mark after sophomore guard Cydni Matsuoka drained a 3-pointer from the right elbow.

The loss drops the Brewers to 9-7, 3-4 in Liberty League play. St. Lawrence, which won its tenth straight game, improves to 13-4 and a perfect 9-0 in the league. Vassar next hosts Clarkson on Saturday at 2:00 pm, while St. Lawrence heads to Bard on Saturday for a 2:00 pm game.

The Matsuoka jumper, bringing Vassar within two points with 5:12 to play, made for a frenetic end to a game played with a high-level of intensity and defensive pressure. The Saints shot 39 percent in the second half, Vassar managed only 33 percent.

St. Lawrence nursed a 56-51 lead after sophomore guard Cassie St. Hilaire converted an old-fashioned three-point play, by holding the Brewers without a basket for the next 1:44 and only two baskets over an important four minute stretch. A nifty reverse layup by junior forward Natalie Allen with 3:07 to play brought the Brewers within 56-53, but the Saints got two free throws from senior guard Katie Edgerton and a layup from senior guard Iris Santoni for a 60-53 lead with 1:26 remaining.

Vassar senior guard Brittany Parks ccanned a 3-pointer with 1:01 to play to cut the lead to 60-56, but went without a basket until Matsuoka made a layup with 18 seconds left.

The Saints led the entire first half, leading by as many as eight points (21-13) at the midway point. Vassar tied the half 27-27 after a Matsuoka 3-pointer, but St. Lawrence was able to take a 29-28 intermission lead in a half that was tied four times.

Matsuoka led the Brewers in scoring for a ninth straight game with 16 points. Parks added 11 points and senior forward Kristyn Tempora had 10 points. St. Lawrence, which got a lift with 28 points from its bench, placed four players in double figures, led by Legg with 14 points. Santoni and St. Hilaire had 12 points each.