Paint Play Lifts William Smith Past Vassar Women Friday, 73-63

                POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (January 17, 2014) – Vassar College surrendered 46 points in the paint and was outrebounded 39-29 in dropping a Liberty League contest to William Smith College 73-63 in play from the Athletics and Fitness Center (AFC) Friday evening.

                The Brewers (9-3/2-1 Liberty League) trailed by as many as 11 points with 11:17 remaining in the first half after a three-pointer from Ali Pliszka. The Brewers rallied thanks to a 15-2 run capped by a pair of free-throws by Nyah Burg (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury). VC led by as many as five late in the first half, taking a 31-30 lead into the break.

                Berg led all Brewer scorers in the first period with 10 points, while Caitlin Drakeley (Woodbury, MA/Nonnewaug) chalked up six points and three assists in the period. William Smith (11-2/4-0 Liberty) got 12 points from Chloe Hayter, as she made all five of her shots from the field.

                After halftime, the squads traded leads over the first couple of minutes but WSC posted a 9-1 run to take a 50-40 advantage with 10:03 to play. VC struggled from the floor over the remaining ten minutes, as the Heron lead continued to hover around double figures. The Brewers cut the lead down to six with three minutes to go on a pair of Hannah Senftleber (Burlington, VT/Burlington) freebies. Melanie Patterson of William Smith answered though with a layup as the Herons pulled away for the victory.

                Senftleber posted a game-high 19 points, as she made all 11 of her free throw attempts. Senior guard Cydni Matsuoka (Sacramento, CA/John F. Kennedy) added 13 points and five assists, while Drakeley finished with 11 points. Vassar was 19-59 (32.2 percent) from the field, and was fantastic from the charity stripe knocking down 24 of the 25 shots (96.0 percent) from the line.

                Hayter led all Heron scorers with 18 points, converting on all but one of her nine field goals. Erin O'Brien added 15 points and five rebounds, and Patterson ended with 12 points in 21 minutes. Jacqueline Murphy also contributed 11 points and a game high nine boards for WSC, which made 51.9 percent (27-52) from the floor.

                The Brewers are back in action tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. as they entertain the Tigers of RIT in the AFC on the campus of Vassar College.

--VASSAR--