HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 18, 2005) – Sophomore Dora Enright (Longmont, Colo.) led all scorers with 21 points to go along with 11 rebounds as the Stevens Institute of Technology women’s basketball team opened its 2005-06 season with a 56-55 loss to Vassar College (1-0) in the Stevens Tip-Off Tournament at Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J.  Sophomore Kelsea Wilks (El Sobrante, Calif.) added 12 points and eight rebounds as three Ducks reached double-figures in scoring.  Senior Jenna Gambino (Staten Island, N.Y.) finished with 11 points and nine rebounds while sophomore Jean Matusiak (Glendale, N.Y.) contributed eight points and eight assists.

Trailing 55-50 in the closing minutes, Vassar used a 6-0 run over the final 3:26 to earn the victory.  The Brewers closed to within 55-52 on a layup by freshman Sarah Ames (Lafayette, Calif.).  Then, with just over two minutes remaining, senior Natalie Serkowski (Clinton Corners, N.Y.) knocked down a jumper to trim the Ducks’ lead to one.  Junior Rachel Cerlen (Short Hills, N.J.) nailed a pair of free throws with 8.3 seconds to play to give the Brewers’ a narrow one-point advantage.  Freshman Dani Dudek (Rockaway, N.J.) missed a contested shot at the final buzzer for Stevens (0-1).

Vassar was led by Cerlen, who had a team-high 16 points and 11 rebounds.  Junior Lizzie Evans (Campbell, Calif.) added eight points and four rebounds.  The Brewers advance to the championship game to play Rutgers University-Newark on Saturday at 3 p.m.  Rutgers (1-0) survived a late push by Western Connecticut State University (0-1) to claim a 62-60 victory in the other first round matchup.  Rutgers received a big effort from sophomore Sabrina Sanchez (Keasbey, N.J.), who led all scorers with 24 points.  Freshman Alyssa McGhee (Hartford, Conn.) had 11 points for Western Connecticut.

Stevens and Western Connecticut will meet in the consolation game on Saturday at 1 p.m.