LAS VEGAS, NV (December 28, 2013) – The Vassar College women's basketball squad, ranked No. 20 in the latest USA Today Coaches' poll and No. 23 in the D3hoops.com poll, allowed 21 offensive rebounds in falling to No. 3 Amherst College 66-53 Saturday night in action from the Vegas Hoopla Tournament.
The game was back-and-forth through the early going, with Vassar (6-1) taking a 15-13 lead with 7:13 to play in the opening half after a layup from junior Michaela Janowski (Straham, NH/Exeter Area). Down by one at 20-19, the Lord Jeffs (9-0) responded with an 8-0 run to end the half, taking a 27-20 lead into the break following a Megan Robertson three at the buzzer.
Both teams scored the majority of their points in the paint in the first half, with the squads combining for 26 points within the painted area. Vassar held an 8-2 edge in points off turnovers in the first, while Amherst had nine second-chance points.
After the break, the Brewers would chip away at the Amherst lead, taking a brief 30-29 lead following a three-pointer from Cydni Matsuoka (San Francisco, CA/John F. Kennedy). The Lord Jeffs responded with a 14-4 spurt to take the game's biggest lead of nine to that point after an Ali Doswell trifecta.
Amherst grew its advantage up to 13 points with at 50-37 with just under nine minutes to play, but again VC rallied to trim the lead down to six with 5:47 remaining. That would be as close as the Brewers would get the rest of the game though, as the Lord Jeffs pulled away for the win.
Matsuoka led all scorers on the evening with 18 points, going 7-of-15 from the floor, nailing four of her five shots from deep. Fellow senior Hannah Senftleber (Burlington, VT/Burlington) posted 14 points, draining five of her 10 shots from the floor, and sophomore Caitlin Drakeley (Woodbury, CT/Nonnewaug) added 11 points and five rebounds.
Janowski played very well for Vassar against a very big Amherst team, scoring six points and snatching a team-leading seven rebounds. VC shot 36.8 percent (21-57) from the floor, including making five of its 10 shots from the perimeter.
Amherst put three in double figures, highlighted by the double-double of 13 points and 12 caroms from Robertson. Cheyenne Pritchard had 10 points, seven boards and five assists, while Savannah Holness came off the bench to score 12 points. Doswell and Marley Giddins each added nine points apiece for the Lord Jeffs, who won the rebounding battle 48-30. Bench scoring was also a deciding factor, with Amherst's reserves outscoring the bench of Vassar 23-0.
This marks the third straight season VC has started 6-0 before falling to 6-1. Vassar will look to rebound Monday afternoon at 2 p.m. PST/5 p.m. EST against Gwynedd-Mercy College in the last game of 2013 for the Brewers.
--VASSAR--