Lady Knights Drop 4th Straight
Southern and Central Maine too much for VTC
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
33 | 31 | 64 |
|
|
13 | 29 | 42 |
Team Stats
| Game Statistics | Central Maine CC | Vermont Tech |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (24-63) | (12-55) |
| Field Goal % | 38.1% | 21.8% |
| Rebounds | 53 | 32 |
| Assists | 16 | 8 |
| Turnovers | 27 | 22 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 24 | 18 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 13 | 5 |
| Bench Pts | 24 | 2 |
Although playing much better as an overall unit, the women of Vermont Tech were unable to unseed either Southern or Central Maine, ranked 4th and 5th respecitively in the YSCC, over the weekend. The girls succumbed in a tight battle to the Seawolves of Southern on Saturday by a final of 49-40, while the Mustangs of Central took down the home team on Sunday 64-42. Vermont Tech is now 4-13 on the season, and fighting for a spot in the YSCC Playoffs.
Saturday's contest was extremely well played, with both teams using a variety of full and half court defenses to confuse the other. Southern's 1-2-1-1 and 2-2-1 full court traps were utilized to slow the pace of the game, while not really causing any direct turnovers by the Knights. Vermont Tech kept the Seawolves on their toes, playing different defenses extremely effectively and limiting their opponent to only 21 halftime points, which was four more than the home team.
The second half saw more of the same, with a game that could have easily gone either way. The stat lines show the even nature of the contest, as almost every piece of statistical evidence in the box score was equal. 38 to 35 rebounds in favor of VTC, 14 steals to 10 steals in favor of VTC, 25 turnovers a piece, 5-15 from 3 for VTC and 6-16 for Southern and Southern had the slight edge in overall shooting 38.8% to 27.8%.
As the half wore on, the Lady Knights were visibly tired, as four played the entire 40 minutes of the game. A few easy layups with around 4:00 to go in the game extended the Southern lead and the Knights were unable to make up the difference. Sophomore Ama Baker (Fitchburg, MA) led the Knights with a double-double of 16pts and 10rbds, while Freshman Heather Gonier (Williamstown, VT) was not far behind with 10pts and 9rbds. Katelyn Benson and Marissa Welch led the Seawolves in scoring with 12 a piece.
Sunday's game was a little different, with a early start of 11am and the Lady Knights not yet quite awake at tip-off. Central Maine jumped on the home team early using a few different full court zone presses in order to stifle the offense from Vermont Tech. The aggressive nature of the Mustangs may have resulted in some unnecessary fouls, but it also wreaked havoc on the shooting percentage of the Knights. Although only causing 22 turnovers, compared to the the 27 the Mustangs committed, Central held Vermont Tech to below 22% shooting while themselves posting a number of 38%. These factors led to a 33-13 halftime lead, which was a hole out from which the Knights could not dig.
The second half saw marked improvement for the home team, dropping it only by a final of 31-29. Led by another Baker double-double, 13pts and 10rbds, the home team started to play more together as a team, distributing the ball, locking down on defense and limiting silly miscues. Junior Kelly Vellek (Burlington, VT) helped the cause with 12pts and Gonier again had a solid performance positng 11pts. In the end, the Mustangs were simply too strong, especially in the area of rebounding where they led by a final margin of 53-32. Danielle McCusker led Central with an incredible performance, hitting on 11 of 15, 2 of 4 from 3, and 5 of 7 from the line for a game high 29pts.
The next contest for the Knights will be on the road against in-state rival St. Joe's. The girls will travel to Rutland for a 6pm start on Wednesday, February 8th.
