Lady Knights End Semester With Win
December 11, 2011

Lady Knights End Semester With Win

Ward's 14pts, 20 rebounds keys victory

Box Score

The Lady Knights went on the road to Amherst, Massachusetts and came home with a much needed victory over Hampshire College by a final of 54-43.

Vermont Tech had opened the season with a victory over Hampshire, winning by 10 in a contest that could have easily gone either way, and this game was very similar to last time. In the midst of a three game losing streak, the Lady Knights walked into the gym on the Hampshire campus badly desiring a victory, but the home team was not going down without a fight.

The first half was tightly contested and extremely physical. The referees were letting the teams play, and no one, players nor coaches, seemed bothered by this. By constantly changing defense to confuse the home team, the Knights jumped out to an eight point lead that they held throughout much of the first half. Sophomore Kelsey Ward (Swanton, VT) imposed her will on the game, coming down with rebound after rebound while also shutting down one of Hampshire better players in Hazel Wood. Ward ended the game with a double-double, 14 points and an incredible 20 rebounds, while also recording 5 steals. Hampshire fought back towards the end of the first half, going on a run in the final three minutes to knot the game at 26.

As with what happened in their first meeting, Vermont Tech began wearing down Hampshire, slowly pulling away in the second half. By continuing to switch defenses, alternating between full and half court, zone and man, the Knights stymied the home team. Due to the stellar defense of VTC, Hampshire ended up with only 17 points in the second half. Tech, on the other hand, used quick ball movement and aggressive dribble drives to attack their opponents, creating layups and free throw opportunities. The Knights made more than twice as many free throws as Hampshire took, and could have had a comfortable lead had they shot better from the line. Overall, the team shot an improved 36.4% from the floor, limiting themselves to only 1-4 from 3, but their free throw percentage was a lowly 54.2%.

After the game, Coach Winnicker exclaimed, "It's a good win, one we wanted, one we needed. We should have won that game and we did, but obviously there are always things to work on. We made it closer than it needed to be due to issues such as defensive rotation breakdowns and free throw shooting. No matter, a win is a win and I'm happy we get to go into the winter break on a high note and in control of our own destiny in terms of playoffs."

Junior Kelly Vellek (Burlington, VT), who played every minute of the game, again led the way in scoring for the Knights with 15. Senior Abby Fusco (East Montpelier, VT) was not far behind with 14 points, many of which came at crucial times in the second half. Freshman Alyssa Cassanelli (Barkhamsted, CT) helped the cause for Tech, bringing down 10 rebounds.

The Lady Knights are now 3-6 overall, 3-5 in the YSCC, and do not play again until after the Winter Break. The next contest will be at home on January 11th versus Maine-Machias, tip is scheduled for 6pm.