Dora Enright had 23 points and 10 rebounds in the final game of the year for Stevens. |
HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 28, 2007) – Eighth-seeded Richard Stockton College knocked down three-pointers on its first three possessions of the game and never looked back as the Ospreys claimed a 74-59 victory over top-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology during the quarterfinals of the 2007 ECAC Division III Women’s Basketball Metro Championship on Wednesday evening at the Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. Junior guard Lisa Neira (Cresskill, N.J.) collected a game-high 24 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists as Richard Stockton advanced to the semifinals to face the winner of the game between fourth-seeded John Jay College and fifth-seeded Montclair State University.
Stevens, which ended the year with a school-best 21-7 mark, was led by junior forward Dora Enright (Longmont, Colo.). In 37 minutes of action, Enright totaled 23 points on 10-for-15 shooting from the floor. She also had a game-high 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard Dani Dudek (Rockaway, N.J.) finished with nine points, six rebounds and six assists. Freshman guard/forward Sarah Gehring (Spokane, Wash.) chipped in with eight points, five rebounds and two steals.
Richard Stockton (14-13) received a solid performance out of junior guard Michele Auerbacher (Franklin Lakes, N.J.), who posted 21 points while making five three-pointers in the game. Senior guard Jenna Shenk (Mount Laurel, N.J.) and sophomore forward Jenn Russell (Scotch Plains, N.J.) added 12 points apiece.
After opening a 9-0 lead in the first 83 seconds of the game, the Ospreys pushed the margin to 16-4 on a lay-up by Russell with 14:27 remaining in the period. Stevens worked its way back into the contest and closed to within eight points on three occasions, but Richard Stockton was still able to carry a 10-point cushion (36-26) into the locker room at the break.
Leading 41-32 with just under 16 minutes to go in the contest, the Ospreys went on a 15-2 run in the span of 4:19 to blow the game open. Shenk started things off with a three-pointer. Auerbacher had 10 points in the spurt as Richard Stockton went on top 56-34 with 11:19 remaining.
Stevens would not go away though as the Ducks used a 21-8 run to close to within 64-55 with 3:30 to go. Enright, Dudek and Gehring combined to score all 21 points in the burst for Stevens. Neira put the game away by making five of six free throws over the final 3:23.
Richard Stockton shot 45.6 percent (26-for-57) from the floor on the evening. The Ospreys made 12 of 25 shots from downtown in the contest. Stevens connected on 24 of 54 field-goal attempts (44.4 percent) overall.
