NEWARK, N.J. (December 4, 2007) – Senior forward Dora Enright posted her fourth double-double of the season with 21 points and 11 rebounds on Wednesday night at the Golden Dome in Newark, N.J., but the Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team lost to Rutgers University-Newark, 62-55. With the loss, the Ducks had their four-game winning streak snapped and fell to 5-2 on the season. Meanwhile, the Scarlet Raiders moved to 6-1 on the year.
In the first half, Stevens out-scored Rutgers-Newark by a 19-11 count in the opening 9:41. In that span, Enright and junior guard Dani Dudek combined for 14 points. Freshman guard Victoria Webber also drained a three-ball at the 11:09 mark to give Stevens a 15-8 lead. However, that advantage drew thin over the final 10:19 of the half. Once trailing 22-15 with over six minutes to go, the Scarlet Raiders came within one with a 6-0 run in a period of 2:33. Sophomore forward Courtney Vacca (Wayne, N.J.) had four points off a pair of lay-ups in the streak. Rutgers-Newark ended up heading into the break on top, 26-25.
In the second half, the Ducks and Scarlet Raiders were tied at 46-46 with just under eight minutes remaining. From that point, Rutgers-Newark used a 10-3 burst in a span of 4:21 to take a 56-49 lead with 3:34 to go. Senior guard Sabrina Sanchez (Keasbey, N.J.) started the run with a three-pointer and senior guard Nerlande Nicolas (Maplewood, N.J.) capped it off with a trifecta. After that, Stevens was unable to spur a late comeback but the Ducks did come within four points with 47 seconds remaining.
Stevens shot 37.1 percent (23-for-62) from the field and 42.9 percent (6-for-14) from the foul line, while Rutgers-Newark sported a field-goal percentage of 44.4 (24-of-54) and a free-throw percentage of 66.7 (8-of-12). Webber had 10 points and two assists. Dudek added seven markers and seven boards and senior guard Jean Matusiak contributed six points, four rebounds, three assists and one steal.
The Scarlet Raiders had three players reach double-figures on the evening. Nicolas recorded a team-high 16 points with four assists and three rebounds. Sanchez accumulated 15 points and a pair of assists, while senior forward Toni Roselli (Garfield, N.J.) picked up 10 points and three steals.
Head Coach Jon Hochberg and the Ducks return to the court this Friday when they open up a two-game home swing at the Canavan Arena against Elmira College. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. and all of the action will be carried at www.Empire8.tv.
