POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 4, 2017) — Ariella Rosenthal joined the 1,000-point club, as the Vassar College women's basketball team (10-11, 7-5 Liberty) outlasted Skidmore College (13-8, 9-3 Liberty) at the Athletics & Fitness Center on Saturday, 62-59.
"It was really exciting," Rosenthal said of her milestone. "I couldn't have done it without my teammates giving me the ball, clearing the lanes, setting the screens, whatever they do out there, helps me. I'm just really happy for them and happy for our team for digging out the win.That's the biggest thing."
Rosenthal became the 12th Brewer in program history to reach such a milestone, driving to the rim for a layup late in the second half. The junior finished with game-highs in points (25) and rebounds (11) to secure her seventh double-double of the season, while Nicole Tetaadded 13 points, including a dagger three late in the second half to round out Vassar's leading scorers.
The Brewers shot 39 percent from the floor, 18 percent (3-of-17) from three and 81 percent from the line, while holding their visitors to 34, 22 and 61 percent, respectively.
Veronica Moceri paced the Thoroughbreds with 18 points, while Kelly Donnelly added 11 points, 10 rebounds and three steals.
"This win was definitely one of the wins that we had to grind out," coach Candice Brown said. "We worked really hard on the defensive end."
In a game that ultimately featured three lead changes, Skidmore led for all of the first half, notwithstanding three ties. The Thoroughbreds took their largest lead of the half in the first, 10-4, before Teta hit a triple from Jackie Cenan, 10-7.
Teta later knotted the game at 16-all with back-to-back baskets, a jumper and a triple, to start the second stanza. Rosenthal knotted it twice more with jumpers at the 6:18 mark, 18-all, and at the 1:01 mark, 24-24, before the Thoroughbreds carried a 26-24 edge into the break.
Nick scored the first two buckets of the second half to briefly flip the lead in the Brewers' favor, 28-26. Although Skidmore quickly reclaimed the lead for the rest of the quarter, Vassar came out hot in the final frame.
The Brewers ripped off a 12-1 run to take their largest lead of the game, 60-56, with 23 seconds remaining. Rosenthal scored the first six points of the burst, with her layup cementing her name in the 1,000-point club. Teta's triple gave the Brewers the lead for good, 57-56, with 1:10 to go before Nick and Rosenthal capped the run with three points from the stripe.
Moceri pulled as close as one, 60-59, with a trifecta of free throws at the 12-second mark, but Teta iced the game with a pair from the line.
"Staying calm and staying resilient was really important for us," Rosenthal said, "and we pulled it out, which was exciting."
The Brewers hit the road for a trifecta of games, playing at St. Lawrence University (Friday, Feb. 10 @ 6 p.m.), Clarkson University (Saturday, Feb. 11 @ 2 p.m.) and Bard College (Wednesday, Feb. 15 @ 6 p.m.)
—VASSAR—