Poughkeepsie, NY - Five players finished in double figures for the Clarkson University Women's Basketball team as the Golden Knights scored 51 points in the opening half and cruised to a 90-67 win over Vassar College in Liberty League action Saturday afternoon.

The Golden Knights improved to 12-4 overall and 5-2 in the Liberty League, their best start since the 1989-90 season, the campaign following Clarkson's trip to the Final Four. Vassar fell to 7-9 and 2-5. Clarkson will finish off the first half of the conference slate on Tuesday when it travels to St. Lawrence.

Vassar scored on its first shot of the game at 19:49, but that was the last time the Brewers would enjoy Saturday's game. Clarkson denied the Brewers offense for the next 10 minutes and rattled off 25 straight points to gain a 25-2 lead. Though Vassar would tally more points on free throws, the Brewers would not score another basket until more than 14 minutes laster on a 3-pointer at the 5:12 mark. By that point, Clarkson had edged its advantage to 28 and the game was all but over. At the break, the Knights led by 26 points (51-25), shooting 17-for-33 from the field and 14-for-16 from the line, while Vassar had recovered to shoot 6-for-26 from the floor and 12-for-14 from the line.

In the second half, Clarkson pushed its advantage beyond 30 points, leading 73-41 with less than 10 minutes to go, and though Vassar would put a few streaks together to cut the deficit to below 20 points briefly, the Knights ended the game with a 23-point margin. The key for the Knights, overall, was their ability to to take care of the basketball, committing just seven turnovers while Vassar had 18 miscues. Clarkson took advantage, scoring 26 points off the Brewers errors while Vassar gained only four points off the Knights' turnovers.

Cara Manfredi scored 20 of her game-high 24 points in the first half, shooting 8-for-15 overall in her seventh 20-point game of the season. Ashley Loggins had her ninth double-double of the year with 21 points and 12 rebounds while adding in three steals. Stephanie Grobe tossed in 16 points before fouling out, and Devin Sorell scored 12 points, keyed by her 7-for-10 performance from the free throw line. Madison Shea also had 10 points, three assists and two steals and Alyssia Marsal added in seven points, nine rebounds and two blocks. For Vassar, Liberty League-leading scorer Caitlin Drakeley scored 16 points, but shot only 3-for-17 from the field and made up for the deficit with a 9-for-10 performance from the free throw line. Rose Serafini came off the bench for the Brewers to score 14 points and grab nine boards.