Basketball Advances Past Vassar, 66-47, to Seven Sisters Championship Game
HAVERFORD, Pa. (December 2, 2006)- Top-seeded Mount Holyoke College defeated fourth-seeded Vassar College, 66-47, Saturday afternoon in the second day of action at the Seven Sisters Women's Basketball Tournament, hosted by Haverford College. The Lyons were paced by seniors Joeanna Silvey and Angela Astuccio, who each recorded game-high efforts of 20 points.
The game was closely contested after the first half of play. The lead changed hands 11 times in the first half before the teams went into the locker room knotted at 31 a piece. Mount Holyoke distanced itself from Vassar, going on a 10-2 run over the first 3:24 of the second half, to take a 41-34 lead. MHC slowly built its lead throughout the rest of the half. Astuccio drained her fifth three-pointer of the game with 4:13 remaining to put the Lyons up by 14 at 57-43. Mount Holyoke out scored Vassar 35-16 in the second half, en route to the 66-47 win.
In addition to her 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the floor, Silvey grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds and forced a game-high six steals. Astuccio grabbed five rebounds on top of her 20-point performance. Freshman forward Jessica Olson contributed 15 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals in the Lyons' victory. Mount Holyoke's defense held Vassar to 24% shooting from the floor in the second half.
Vassar was led by freshman guard Ashley Sherman's 12 points and freshman forward Emily Haeuser's 11 points and seven rebounds. Senior center Rachel Cerlen grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds and added 8 points in the loss.
The Lyons will seek their fifth straight Seven Sisters Championship Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m., when they take on the winner of the Smith/Swarthmore contest.