ROCHESTER, N.Y. (January 5, 2008) – Junior guard Dani Dudek collected a season-high 20 points on Saturday afternoon as the Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team won its fourth contest in its last five by defeating Empire 8 foe Nazareth College, 73-63. With the victory, the Ducks improved to 9-3 overall and 6-0 in conference action. As for the Golden Flyers, they fell to 3-7 overall and 1-3 in league play.
Tied at 9-9 with just under 14 minutes left in the first half, Stevens used a 7-0 run in a two-minute stretch to take a 16-9 lead with 11:39 remaining. Freshman forward/guard Victoria Webber scored the first five points of the streak and senior forward Dora Enright had the other two with a pair of made free throws.
Nazareth quickly responded with a short 6-2 burst to cut the deficit to five. Senior forward Ali Sharpe (Rochester, N.Y.) started the run with a lay-up and junior guard Sally Wilcox (Millport, N.Y.) ended it with a jumper. After another pair of made baskets at the charity stripe by Enright, the Golden Flyers recorded a 10-2 spurt in a span of 1:42 to take a 25-22 advantage with six minutes to go. Sophomore guard Kelly Dunne (East Northport, N.Y.) drained a three-ball and dished out two assists in the run.
Shortly thereafter, the Ducks put together a 6-0 streak in a period of 1:04 to grab back the lead at 28-25 with 4:40 left. Senior guard Jean Matusiak, sophomore guard Sarah Gehring and Dudek each drained a lay-up in the burst. Then, in the final 2:30 of the half, Nazareth went on a 9-4 run to clutch a 34-32 lead into the intermission. Freshman guard Mary Holland (Dryden, N.Y.) got it all going with a deuce. Sharpe followed with a lay-up and Dunne tallied the final five points of the spurt.
Early into the second half, Stevens found itself down by a 43-40 count with less than 14 minutes to go. After that, the Ducks jumpstarted an 11-2 spurt, which put them up 51-45 with 10:30 left. Webber started and stopped the run with a three-ball. Minutes later, Stevens had a 55-52 advantage and would then tally six straight points to notch a nine-point lead (61-52) with just over six minutes remaining.
The Golden Flyers came within 61-57 on two free throws by sophomore guard Jamie Malloy (Penfield, N.Y.) but that was as close as they got because the Ducks answered with a 9-1 run over a three-minute segment to go up 12 points (70-58) with 1:02 left. The burst also launched Stevens to the victory. In that span, Dudek accumulated six points and sophomore forward Brittany Fuller contributed a vital trifecta.
For the game, the Ducks shot 37.7 percent from the field (23-for-61) and 75.0 percent (21-for-28) from the foul line. Dudek also registered four rebounds and a game-high six assists. Enright added 16 points and crashed the glass nine times. She was also a perfect 12-of-12 from the stripe. Freshman center/forward Paige Armstrong amassed six points and eight rebounds, while Webber had herself an 11-point day.
Nazareth shot 36.5 percent (19-of-52) from the floor, 36.4 percent (8-of-22) from downtown and 81.0 percent (17-of-21) from the free-throw line. Dunne picked up a team-high 18 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Junior center Lizzie Barlow (Cazenovia, N.Y.) compiled 11 points and eight boards and Sharpe gathered 10 points and eight rebounds
Head Coach Jon Hochberg and his squad return to action this Tuesday when they wrap up their three-game road trip at the College of Saint Elizabeth. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.
