HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 15, 2008) – On Saturday afternoon, the Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team opened the 2008-09 season by hosting the Stevens Tip-Off Tournament at the Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. The Ducks dropped a 71-61 decision to the College of Staten Island while The College of New Jersey claimed a 65-47 win over Middlebury College in the other opening-round game. Sunday's consolation game will now pit Stevens against Middlebury at 1 p.m. TCNJ and CSI will meet in the championship game at 3 p.m.
TCNJ vs. Middlebury
In its game against Middlebury, TCNJ (1-0) used a 17-4 run in the span of 5:15 to turn a three-point second-half deficit into an 11-point cushion with just under seven minutes to play. Lions' senior center Hillary Klimowicz (Scotch Plains, N.J.) led all players with 25 points on 12-for-14 shooting. She also had nine rebounds. Sophomore forward Kelsey Kutch (Hillsborough, N.J.) added 16 points. Senior guard Alyssa Michella (Washington Township, N.J.) finished with 13 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the field.
Middlebury (0-1) was paced by senior guard Emily Johnson (Lower Gwynedd, Pa.), who had 11 points. The Panthers also received 10 points from junior forward Kaitlyn Fallon (Swarthmore, Pa.).
Leading 51-43 with less than six minutes to go in the game, TCNJ put things away with a 14-2 run to open a 20-point bulge (65-45). The Lions, who trailed 27-26 at the break, out-scored Middlebury 39-20 in the second half.
Stevens vs. Staten Island
Staten Island used a 31-6 run over the final 11:12 of the game to claim a 71-61 win over Stevens, which scored just three points in the last 8:19 of action. The Dolphins (1-0) trailed 55-40 before their surge late in the game.
Stevens (0-1) was led by sophomore center Paige Armstrong, who totaled 11 points and a game-high 18 rebounds. Junior forward Brittany Fuller finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. Senior guard Dani Dudek had 14 points, seven assists, and five rebounds.
Senior Nicole Estrada (Brooklyn, N.Y.) tallied 19 points and six rebounds for the Dolphins. Junior Kristen Panariello (Staten Island, N.Y.) and sophomore Allie Shanahan (Staten Island, N.Y.) registered 16 points apiece.
Leading 40-32 at the break, Stevens used a 15-8 run over the first eight-plus minutes of the second half to open a 55-40 lead on a layup by freshman forward Jillian Barrett. Staten Island would not go away though. Trailing 58-47 with less than eight minutes to play, the Dolphins scored 24 of the game's final 27 points to pull out the victory.
For the game, Stevens shot 36.5 percent (23-for-63) from the floor. CSI made 24 of 60 field-goal attempts (40 percent) overall. Barrett finished with six points off the bench. Junior guard Sarah Gehring added six points and five rebounds in the loss.
