Feb 18, 2012
With 15 points, the senior guard broke a program record that has stood since 1996.
Box Score
Game Program
Senior Day Program
POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 18, 2012) – The defending Liberty League champion Vassar College women's basketball team will get a chance to defend its crown. In a must-win game with Liberty League playoffs on the line, the Brewers stormed back from a six-point halftime deficit with a blistering second half performance to defeat William Smith, 70-55, Saturday afternoon at the Athletics & Fitness Center.
The victory earned Vassar the No. 3 seed in next week's Liberty League Championship. The Brewers (16-9, 10-6), will travel to No. 2 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (16-9, 10-6) next Wednesday, February 22 for a 7:00 p.m. contest. The other semifinal will pit No. 1 seed St. Lawrence (20-4, 16-0) against Union (13-11, 9-7). Union and William Smith (13-12, 9-7) had identical league records, but earned a playoff spot because it swept the Herons during the season.
It was an afternoon for milestones. Not only did the Brewers qualify for their second straight Liberty League Championship, but with 15 points, senior guard Brittany Parks became the program's all-time leading scorer, surpassing the 1,540 career point mark set by Kristin Vogt, '96. Parks, who earned the record on two free throws with 6:28 to play, now has 1,541 points. With 21 rebounds, many of them coming amidst a trio of William Smith frontcourt players, freshman forward Colleen O'Connell placed her name in the record books as well, setting a new single game rebounding record. O'Connell had set the record with 19 boards against Clarkson on January 28.
All of this took place on Senior Day where the Brewers honored Parks and senior forward Kristyn Tempora.
"It was a very close, back-and-forth game," said Parks. "We were determined the game would be ours because it guaranteed us a playoff spot." Added head coach Candice Brown, "We knew we had to play a better second half. I told the team we had 20 minutes to secure our destiny. We executed better on both sides of the floor. It's exciting to be in the playoffs and have an opportunity to defend our title."
The game was a tale of two halves. William Smith controlled the first half. Vassar dominated the second half. The opportune inside scoring that led the Herons to such a decisive first half evaded them in the second half. William Smith shot 10 of 40 from the field (25 percent), missing from both inside the paint and the exterior, while the Brewers were an efficient 48 percent, riding the hot hand of Tempora and junior guard Ali Higgins.
Tempora, who scored all of her 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting from the field in the second half, was the catalyst that broke the game open. She got significant support from Higgins who contributed a key 3-pointer and a big bucket in the lane during Vassar's game-changing run.
Tempora's jumper at the 14:08 mark tied the game 40-40, the first time the contest was tied since 4-4. The contest was knotted 42-42 following a layup by William Smith's senior forward Kristen Kush, but it would be the last tie of an intensely played game. Higgins abruptly canned a 3-point jumper from the left side for a 45-42 Vassar lead, and then Tempora and Higgins proceed to tally Vassar's next nine points, building the Brewers' lead to 56-48 with 6:58 to play. The Brewers then added extra offense, going on a 10-4 run over the next five minutes to build a 66-52 lead with 1:48 to play. The Herons, went 0-for-5 from the field, enabling Vassar to pull away down the stretch.
With strong inside play, William Smith controlled the first half, taking a 14-13 lead six minutes into play and building that margin to seven points (26-19) following a strong old-fashioned three-point play by junior guard Jaimie Rubin. Sophomore guard Sasha Borenstein ignited the Herons in the first half with 10 points and helped her team earn eight-second chance points and eight points in transition.
With Parks, O'Connell and sophomore forward Hannah Senftleber each scoring six points in the half, the Brewers were able to contain the Herons from earning a double-digit lead.
Vassar had six players in double figures, led by Parks with 15 points, Tempora's 13 and Higgins, Senftlerber, O'Connell and sophomore guard Cydni Matsuoka with 10 each.
Kush led William Smith with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Borenstein finished with 10 points, but was held scoreless in the second half.
Game Program
Senior Day Program
POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 18, 2012) – The defending Liberty League champion Vassar College women's basketball team will get a chance to defend its crown. In a must-win game with Liberty League playoffs on the line, the Brewers stormed back from a six-point halftime deficit with a blistering second half performance to defeat William Smith, 70-55, Saturday afternoon at the Athletics & Fitness Center.
The victory earned Vassar the No. 3 seed in next week's Liberty League Championship. The Brewers (16-9, 10-6), will travel to No. 2 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (16-9, 10-6) next Wednesday, February 22 for a 7:00 p.m. contest. The other semifinal will pit No. 1 seed St. Lawrence (20-4, 16-0) against Union (13-11, 9-7). Union and William Smith (13-12, 9-7) had identical league records, but earned a playoff spot because it swept the Herons during the season.
It was an afternoon for milestones. Not only did the Brewers qualify for their second straight Liberty League Championship, but with 15 points, senior guard Brittany Parks became the program's all-time leading scorer, surpassing the 1,540 career point mark set by Kristin Vogt, '96. Parks, who earned the record on two free throws with 6:28 to play, now has 1,541 points. With 21 rebounds, many of them coming amidst a trio of William Smith frontcourt players, freshman forward Colleen O'Connell placed her name in the record books as well, setting a new single game rebounding record. O'Connell had set the record with 19 boards against Clarkson on January 28.
All of this took place on Senior Day where the Brewers honored Parks and senior forward Kristyn Tempora.
"It was a very close, back-and-forth game," said Parks. "We were determined the game would be ours because it guaranteed us a playoff spot." Added head coach Candice Brown, "We knew we had to play a better second half. I told the team we had 20 minutes to secure our destiny. We executed better on both sides of the floor. It's exciting to be in the playoffs and have an opportunity to defend our title."
The game was a tale of two halves. William Smith controlled the first half. Vassar dominated the second half. The opportune inside scoring that led the Herons to such a decisive first half evaded them in the second half. William Smith shot 10 of 40 from the field (25 percent), missing from both inside the paint and the exterior, while the Brewers were an efficient 48 percent, riding the hot hand of Tempora and junior guard Ali Higgins.
Senior forward Kristyn Tempora
With strong inside play, William Smith controlled the first half, taking a 14-13 lead six minutes into play and building that margin to seven points (26-19) following a strong old-fashioned three-point play by junior guard Jaimie Rubin. Sophomore guard Sasha Borenstein ignited the Herons in the first half with 10 points and helped her team earn eight-second chance points and eight points in transition.
With Parks, O'Connell and sophomore forward Hannah Senftleber each scoring six points in the half, the Brewers were able to contain the Herons from earning a double-digit lead.
Vassar had six players in double figures, led by Parks with 15 points, Tempora's 13 and Higgins, Senftlerber, O'Connell and sophomore guard Cydni Matsuoka with 10 each.
Kush led William Smith with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Borenstein finished with 10 points, but was held scoreless in the second half.