Jean Matusiak was named to the all-tourney team after scoring 22 points on Saturday.

HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 19, 2005) – Sophomore Jean Matusiak (Glendale, N.Y.) scored a game-high 22 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the floor in leading the Stevens Institute of Technology women’s basketball team to a 67-56 victory over Western Connecticut State University in the consolation game of the Stevens Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J.  Matusiak, who was named to the all-tourney team, was 8-for-8 from the foul line in the game and finished with five rebounds.

Stevens (1-1) also received strong efforts from sophomore Kelsea Wilks (El Sobrante, Calif.) and senior Jenna Gambino (Staten Island, N.Y.) in the win over the Colonials.  Wilks was 6-for-10 from the floor for 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds.  Gambino tallied 11 points.  Sophomore Dora Enright (Longmont, Colo.) had nine points and 11 rebounds while freshman Dani Dudek (Rockaway, N.J.) chipped in with six points and six assists.

With just under five minutes remaining in the game, Stevens used an 11-3 spurt in the span of 3:36 to turn a one-point lead into a 63-54 advantage.  Gambino began the decisive burst with two free throws.  Enright followed by making 3-of-4 free throws.  After back-to-back baskets by Matusiak, Gambino capped the run with a jumper to push the Ducks’ lead to nine with 1:23 left in game.

Despite turning the ball over 25 times, Stevens was able to force 24 turnovers by the Colonials while holding Western Connecticut to 36.4 percent shooting from the floor.  Stevens also owned a huge advantage at the foul line where the Ducks knocked down 25-of-28 attempts.  Western Connecticut (0-2) was 11-for-21 at the line in the game.  Sophomore Ally Greenwood (East Hartford, Conn.) led the Colonials with 11 points and was named to the all-tourney team.

In the championship game, tourney MVP Rachel Cerlen (Short Hills, N.J.) led Vassar College to a 53-51 victory over Rutgers-Newark as she scored 12 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.  Cerlen, a junior, had 16 points and 11 rebounds in a 56-55 win over the Ducks on Friday.  Senior Natalie Serkowski (Clinton Corners, N.Y.) came up big for the Brewers in their win on Saturday.  Serkowski finished with 11 points and four rebounds.  Senior Erin Harper (Kings Park, N.Y.) added 11 assists in the game.

Rutgers was led by all-tournament selections Eni Fageyinbo (Morris Plains, N.J.) and Christyal Anderson (Newark, N.J.), who had 12 points apiece.  Anderson also finished with a team-high 13 rebounds.

Vassar (2-0) led the championship game by eight points with just over four minutes remaining, but the Scarlet Raiders used a 8-2 run to close to within two points in the closing seconds.  Rutgers (1-1) had one final chance to tie the game, but sophomore Toni Roselli (Garfield, N.J.) came up short on a jumper from the top of the arc with four seconds remaining.  Rutgers was unable to get another shot off as the final buzzer sounded.

Tournament Recap

Friday, November 18

Vassar College d. Stevens Institute of Technology, 56-55

Rutgers-Newark d. Western Connecticut State University, 62-60 

Saturday, November 19

Stevens Institute of Technology d. Western Connecticut State University, 67-56

Vassar College d. Rutgers-Newark, 53-51

Tournament MVP – Rachel Cerlen (Vassar)

All-Tournament Team:

Jean Matusiak (Stevens)

Ally Greenwood (Western Connecticut)

Eni Fageyinbo (Rutgers-Newark)

Christyal Anderson (Rutgers-Newark)

Lizzie Evans (Vassar)