POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – Skidmore College women's basketball senior forward Kelly Donnelly notched her 1,500^th career point, but the Thoroughbreds dropped its first Liberty League contest to Vassar by a 63-46 score at the Athletics and Fitness Center Tuesday evening.

Skidmore falls to 6-6 overall and drops to second place in the league standings with a 4-1 record. Vassar improves to 8-4 and 3-2 in conference play.
 
Donnelly pulled up for a deep jumper from the wing for her 1,500^th career point. She is just the second Thoroughbred player to reach that mark, joining Skidmore Athletics Hall of Famer Jamie Cumpelik. Donnelly finished with a team-high 16 points, adding 11 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.
 
Veronica Moceri finished with nine points for the Thoroughbreds, adding four rebounds and three assists. Haley English tallied seven points and four rebounds.
 
Sophie Nick led Vassar with a game-high 19 points, adding eight rebounds. Nicole Teta finished with 15 points. The Brewers were hot offensively, shooting 46 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range. The 9-for-18 performance is the highest mark for a Skidmore opponent in its last eight games.
 
Vassar led throughout the first half, taking advantage of an early shooting slump by the Thoroughbreds. After taking an early 13-5 lead in the first quarter, Caite Opfer responded with a jumper at the 1:02 mark, and Ari Fustini hit a jumper with three seconds left as the Brewers held a 13-9 first quarter lead.
 
Vassar stretched its advantage in the second, taking advantage of the 3-ball. They led by as many as 15 points, before a pair of English free throws sent Skidmore to the half with a 32-19 deficit.
 
Skidmore attempted to come back in the second half, trailing by as few as nine points on a pair of occasions, but the Brewers were able to get key buckets on the other end each time.

"They shot the ball great and we didn't," said head coach Darren Bennett. "They are an amazing shooting team and they made a lot of shots, most of them contested some of them not contested heavily and three or four right at the buzzer. We had to really grind to make shots, we hit the offensive boards well and had a lot of second-shot opportunities that we just couldn't get to fall. Vassar is nothing short of one of the top teams in the conference and having to play them on the road makes the game that much more challenging. They are talented, well coached, experienced and play with a lot of energy, drive and focus. We will learn some things from this game and move on. We've got a tough road ahead but we'll get back in the groove."
 
The Thoroughbreds shot 32 percent from the field in the contest and tallied 12 points off Vassar turnovers.
 
Skidmore continues its road stretch this Friday with a trip to league-leading RIT, at 6 p.m.