Poughkeepsie, NY – Sierra McDermed (San Antonio, TX) matched her season-high with 26 points and Tova Gelb (Sharon, MA) contributed 16 points as the Vassar College Women's Basketball team fought its way to a 60-53 Liberty League victory over Union Saturday afternoon. The victory is the 19^th straight for the Brewers and earns the program its first 20-win season since 2018-19.

Saturday's win improves Vassar to 20-1 overall on the season and an unblemished 14-0 in conference play, while Union dips to 7-14 overall and 6-8 in Liberty League competition.

First Half

• Vassar got off to a sluggish start, going just 3-for-19 from the field over the opening 10 minutes.
• Union held a lead as large as five points, at 13-8, following a Sophia Poplyk jumper with 2:27 left in the half.
• McDermed closed out the first quarter scoring with a layup with 19 seconds left to pull the Brewers to within 13-10 heading into the second frame.
• Grace Ardito opened the second quarter with a triple for the Garnet Chargers to push the visitor's lead to 16-10.
• Vassar would rip off the next six points, including four from Bella Tawney (Simsbury, CT), to knot the score at 16-16.
• Union answered with the next five points to regain a 21-16 lead before five straight points from McDermed evened things against at 21-21.
• Emma Riley gave the visitors back a 23-21 lead at the 2:29 mark of the frame, but the Garnet Chargers would go without a point the remainder of the half.
• Vassar tallied the final three points of the half, capped by a McDermed bucket, to carry a 24-23 lead into the half.
• Vassar improved to 33.3-percent shooting in the second frame, but finished the half converting at just 24.3-percent, including a 2-for-13 effort from behind the arc.
• Union shot 38.5-percent over the first 20 minutes and went 3-for-7 from three-point range.

Second Half

• Coming out of halftime, Vassar used a quick 5-0 spurt to grab a 29-23 lead on a pair of Gelb free-throws.
• A 7-0 run, capped by a McDermed three-pointer, pushed the Vassar lead to double-figures for the first time at 36-25 with 4:03 left in the third period.
• The Brewers moved in front by a game-high 15 points, at 41-26, following a McDermed three-pointer at the 2:32 mark of the third quarter.
• Vassar would keep Union trailing by at least 11 points the rest of the frame and carried a 44-33 lead into the final stanza.
• Union scored the first four points of the final period, moving to within 44-27 on a Grace Arcoleo three-pointer 42 seconds into the period.
• Vassar spread its lead back to double-figures when Gelb converted a pair of free-throws to make the score 49-39, but would not push the advantage past 10 the rest of the way.
• Union sliced its disadvantage to just 55-51 on a Kennedy Clark triple in the final minute, but would not climb any closer.
• Vassar would close out the game knocking in five of its final six free-throw attempts to finish the day with the final seven-point lead.
• Vassar shot 31.3-percent overall after halftime and connected on three triples.
• Union went 3-for-13 from the floor in the third period and finished the half shooting 37.9-percent overall and 4-for-12 from three-point range.
• Vassar outscored Union 13-4 from the charity stripe in the second half.

For The Brewers

• McDermed scored 26 points in a game for the second time this season and finished Saturday's tilt 9-for-19 from the floor with a trio of treys. McDermed finished off a big day with a career-high 15 rebounds to go along with a pair of steals.
• Gelb totaled 16 points and hauled in a game and career-high 18 rebounds.
• Tawney rounded out the win with six points and four boards.
• Naiya Kurnik (Fallbrook, CA) posted six points, six rebounds and a game-high five assists.
• Caroline Siekman (Islesboro, ME) came off the bench to produce five points and eight rebounds.

For The Garnet Chargers

• Clark led the team with 12 points on the strength of 3-for-5 shooting from behind the arc.
• Perovic totaled 10 points and six rebounds.
• Arcoleo led the team with seven boards and finished with nine points while leading the team with three assists.

Game Statistics

• Vassar shot a season-low 27.5-percent from the field and went 5-for-25 from three-point range.
• Union converted at 38.2-percent overall and went 7-for-19 from three-point range.
• Vassar outscored Union 17-4 from the free-throw line.
• Vassar continued to dominate the offensive glass, corralling 24 offensive boards leading to 21 second chance points.
• Union finished with a slim 26-24 edge in paint points.

What's Next

• Vassar looks for its 20^th straight victory on February 9 when it hosts RIT.
• Union hosts Clarkson on February 9.