Jean Matusiak had 17 points, four rebounds, four steals and four assists against No. 24 NYU. |
HOBOKEN, N.J. (December 30, 2006) – After falling behind by as many as 11 points in the first half, the New York University women’s basketball team used a strong second-half performance to claim a 78-70 victory over Stevens Institute of Technology on Saturday afternoon at the Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. With the win, the 15th-ranked Violets improved to 9-0 on the year. The Ducks, who were playing their first game in three weeks, fell to 8-2 with their second straight loss.
Four starters scored in double-figures for Stevens. Junior forward Dora Enright (Longmont, Colo.) led the way with 17 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Junior forward Jean Matusiak (Queens, N.Y.) finished with 17 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals. Making her first career start, freshman guard/forward Sarah Gehring (Spokane, Wash.) posted 14 points on 6-for-12 shooting. Gehring added seven rebounds in the loss. Sophomore guard Dani Dudek (Rockaway, N.J.) collected 10 points, eight rebounds and six steals.
NYU was led by sophomore guard Gena Brown (Philadelphia, Pa.), who was 6-for-6 from the field for 16 points. Brown drilled all four of her attempts from downtown in the game. Senior guard Adrienne Rochetti (Vineland, N.J.) registered 11 points and five assists. Senior guard/forward Stephanie Ryba (New Britain, Conn.) tallied 14 points. Senior forward/center Karen Bachman (Avon, Conn.) had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Sophomore forward Jessica McEntee (Flushing, N.Y.) contributed 10 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Tied at 22-all with less than seven minutes to go in the first half, Stevens scored seven straight points in the span of 62 seconds to grab a 29-22 lead. Freshman forward Brittany Fuller (East Rockaway, N.Y.) got things started by banking in a three-pointer from the top of the arc. Enright followed with back-to-back jumpers. The Ducks extended their lead to 37-26 with 1:32 left in the period as Fuller drained a jump shot.
The Violets came right back as Brown nailed a big three-pointer from the wing. Bachman added a pair of free throws to bring NYU within six points with 48 seconds remaining. Stevens went into the locker room with a 39-33 advantage.
NYU worked its way back into the game in the second half and took its first lead (47-45) of the period on a three-pointer by Brown with 13:06 to go. The Violets did not trail the rest of the game.
Leading 53-51 with just over 10 minutes remaining, NYU used a 9-0 spurt in the span of 2:25 to take control of the contest. Freshman guard Jen Hum-Traverso (San Rafael, Calif.) scored seven points in the run as the Violets grabbed a 62-51 lead with 7:38 left on the clock. NYU led by as many as 15 points while out-scoring the Ducks 45-31 in the second half.
Despite the loss, Stevens became the first team to break the 60-point barrier against the Violets this season. The Ducks also owned a 48-30 advantage on the boards. NYU entered the game having out-rebounded its opponents by an average of 17.8 rebounds per game this year. The Violets had also out-scored their first eight opponents by an average of 27.3 points per game before posting the narrow eight-point win over the Ducks.
After shooting 45.9 percent (17-for-37) from the floor in the first half, Stevens made just 11 of 35 attempts (31.4 percent) after intermission. NYU shot 40.7 percent (22-for-54) from the field in the game. The Violets converted 27 of 32 free throws. Stevens was 8-for-12 from the line.
The Ducks will be back in action on Friday, January 5 when they take on Goucher College as part of the Diversified Tournament at the University of Scranton. Game-time is set for 5 p.m. in Scranton, Pa.
