HOBOKEN, N.J. (December 9, 2007) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team held Empire 8 opponent Ithaca College to a single point over the final 10:16 of the game on Sunday afternoon as the Ducks beat the Bombers by a final score of 58-40 at the Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. With the win, Stevens went to 7-2 overall and 4-0 in league action. The Ducks have also won six games in their last seven attempts. As for Ithaca, it dropped to 3-4 overall and 2-1 in Empire 8 play.
Stevens opened up the contest by out-scoring its opposition, 17-6, in the first 12 minutes. Senior forward Dora Enright and junior guard Dani Dudek combined for eight points, while senior guard Jean Matusiak added four points. After that, the Bombers scored 11 of the final 19 points of the period to cut the deficit to eight points (25-17) heading into the break. In that span, senior guard Kali Carnovale (Kersey, Pa.) and senior forward/center Erika Steele (Hopkinton, Mass.) had four points each.
Leading 29-23 with just over 17 minutes to go in the second half, the Ducks notched an 8-0 run in a span of 1:43 to grab hold of a 14-point advantage (37-23) with 15:23 to go. Enright began the spurt with a jumper. Freshman center/forward Paige Armstrong capped it off with a lay-up. Ithaca responded with a 10-2 spurt in a time of 2:41 to cut Stevens' lead to six points (39-33) with 12:29 remaining.
Sophomore guard Katherine Bixby (Philadelphia, Pa.) began the run with a three-ball. Sophomore forward Jeanine Burke (Raritan, N.J.) followed with a jumper. Carnovale got a lay-up and senior guard Brynn Fessette (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) ended it with a trifecta, which proved to be the last field goal for the Bombers in the game. Their last seven points all came at the free-throw line.
Up 43-37 with just over 10 minutes remaining, Armstrong fouled Burke to send her to the charity stripe. She netted both of her foul shots and got Ithaca within four, which was as close as they got in the game. After that, the Ducks finished up the contest on a 15-1 run. During that streak, freshman forward/guard Victoria Webber knocked down a three-pointer as the shot clock expired as Stevens went ahead by 15 points (54-39) with 5:45 remaining. She also had five points in the burst. Matusiak chipped in with four points. In that time, Ithaca also went 0-for-11 from the field.
In the second half, the Ducks out-scored and out-rebounded the Bombers by counts of 33-23 and 34-17, respectively. Stevens also shot 100.0 percent (10-for-10) from the free-throw line, while Ithaca shot 63.6 percent (7-for-11) from the charity stripe.
For the game, the Ducks recorded a field-goal percentage of 31.8 (21-of-66) and a free-throw percentage of 82.4 (14-of-17). On the other hand, the Bombers shot 25.4 percent (15-of-59) from the floor and 6.9 percent (2-for-29) from three-point land. Enright posted her fifth double-double on the year with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Dudek contributed 12 points, nine rebounds, four steals and two assists. Matusiak added 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and a trio of steals. Freshman center Victoria O'Connor finished with 11 rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench.
Bixby led Ithaca with seven points, four rebounds and three steals. Steele registered six points, six rebounds and four assists, while Carnovale had eight points, seven rebounds and two steals in 26 minutes of action.
Head Coach Jon Hochberg and his squad return to action on December 30 when they travel across the Hudson River to take on fifth-ranked New York University. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
