Roos Ruin Lady Knights' First Game of 2013

Canton, NY - The Vermont Tech Ladies dropped a tough one on the road at SUNY Canton by the final of 54-51. The loss drops the Knights to 6-5, while elevating the Roos' record to the same 6-5.

The Knights walked onto the court in Canton ready to playing, scoring the first seven points of the game with Paige Wells (So./Orleans, VT), Kelly Vellek (Sr./Burlington, VT) and Ama Baker (Jr./Fitchburg, MA) all conecting on easy layups. Karyss Tarrance made the first shot for the Roos on what was to be a big day for her, as she would finished with 14 points, 19 rebounds with 13 of those coming on the offensive end.

Following two layups by Vellek, the road team went up 10 with 15 minutes left in the first half. The Roos, however, were not willing to go away, as they went on a scoring run to take the lead by one on a Terrance jumper at the 11:39 mark. The teams fought the rest of the half, trading baskets and ending the period with the Knights holding a slight 3 point lead. The score was 25-22.

The second half started much like the first, with Vermont Tech jumping on the Roos. Baker converted two free throws and Wells a jumper to give the team a seven point lead within the first two minutes of the period. At the 15 minute mark, Vellek hit a jumper to push the lead to 11, but that is when the Roos turned it on both on the offensive and defensive sides of the floor. Following a timeout, Brianna Sayer made a layup and sparked a 14-1 run that put the Roos up 2 at 10:29.

The Roos remained in front for much of the remainder of the half. However, the Knights were never far away, with the lead only reaching a maximum of 5. The Knights began to foul, entering the one-and-one bonus. The strategy worked, as the Roos missed the front end of the first set of free throws, but Vermont Tech was not able to secure the rebound. The same happened with the second one-and-one as Corrine Riegel was unable to put away the game, however the Roos again secured the rebound.

Finally, the home team made two free throws to make the lead 5. The Knights hit some free throws of their own, as Alyssa Cassanelli (So./Barkhamsted, CT) connected on two, and that made the lead just three. Vellek was able to get a 3-point shot off at the end of the game, with the score 51-54, but was unable to connect and time expired.

For the Knights Vellek finished with 21 points, Wells 11 and 7 rebounds, and Baker 14 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. The Roos were led by Tarrance with 14 points and Brianna Sayer with 13.

The Knights were hurt on the boards, as Canton held a 55-39 advantage in the game. In addition, the Canton bench did a better job contributing than that of the Knights, as the bench scoring final was 16-0 in favor of the home team.

Vermont Tech next faces the University of Maine Fort Kent, another USCAA DI opponent. The game is set for Monday, January 7th at 5pm.