Poughkeepsie, N.Y. - Maddy Polky would score a career-high 15 points but suboptimal shooting proved to be too much to overcome as the Clarkson University Women's Basketball team dropped a 61-40 decision to Vassar College, Friday evening.
The Golden Knights move to 4-7 overall, 0-4 in the Liberty League and will move on to Saturday to face Bard College at 2 p.m. Vassar improves to 5-6 overall while remaining undefeated in conference play at 4-0.
Clarkson would get out to a relatively slow start despite an Emma Chambers layup in the opening minute. Vassar would rattle off nine unanswered points, climbing out to an 11-2 lead just over five minutes into the contest. Polky got the Knights back to within three, 11-8, capping off a 6-0 run with just over two minutes left in the first as both teams would trade two lay-ins over the remainder of the quarter with the hosts leading 13-10.
The start of the second quarter produced another cold shooting stretch for Clarkson, one which the Brewers took full advantage of cashing in on three straight close-range looks before forcing an early Golden Knight timeout down 19-10. Bella Doyle managed to open the scoring for Clarkson at the 6:23 mark off a feed from Addie Kea preceding another tough scoreless drought of four minutes in which Lindsey Shoulders accounted for the only three points for either team at the charity stripe. Kate Campbell would connect on a trifecta to make it 22-15 as Polky and Doyle both supplied buckets in the paint to get Clarkson back to within three with less than a minute remaining. Sierra McDermed would go on a 4-0 run of her own in the final minute for Vassar as the Brewers would take a 26-19 advantage into the break.
Shooting struggles plagued the Knights over the opening 20 minutes as a 1-12 mark from three would be to blame for several empty offensive opportunities. Vassar made just one three of their own but relied significantly less on the long-range attempts going 1-4 but shooting 10-23 overall.
Vassar would open up the second half on a 9-0 streak continuing to take advantage of cold Clarkson shooting as the lead would grow to 35-19 less than three minutes in. That 9-0 run would turn into a 10-0 stretch following a Shoulders free throw but Polky would muscle her way to the cup for her eighth point of the game to get Clarkson on the board in the third with 5:43 remaining. The hosts would get up by as much as 21 as the third quarter waned down, four points from each team over the final three minutes meant Vassar would lead 47-27 after three.
Both teams continued to trade looks as the fourth quarter got underway as Doyle and Alexis Kress both connected on inside looks but a three from Maureen Regan meant Vassar would still lead by 21, less than two minutes in. That would be the closest that Clarkson managed to get over the remainder of the contest as both teams would score nine points apiece over the final eight minutes for the 61-40 final.
Clarkson would manage to shoot 33% (18-55) from the field overall despite a 6% (1-18) mark from long range, not making a three-point field goal in the second half. Both teams turned the ball over 20 times but the Knights managed to make more of their chances with 21 points off turnovers compared to 13 for Vassar. Clarkson would also hold a 22-7 lead in bench points while the Brewers shot 49% (22-46) from the field and 38% (3-8) from three.
Polky would snag two steals to go along with her scoring outburst on 7-11 shooting while Doyle was the only other Golden Knight in double-figures with 10 points. Kea and Elizabeth Aiossa led the team with three assists apiece. Regan notched a game-high 21 points on 10-13 shooting for the Brewers while McDermed and Shoulders added 14 and 10, respectively, with McDermed going 6-6 at the free throw line.
