HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 16, 2008) – Senior captain Dani Dudek scored 19 points and pulled down 12 rebounds as the Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team earned its first win of the season over Middlebury College, 65-55 on Saturday afternoon at the Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. Stevens used a 12-0 run over a seven-minute stretch in the first half to build a 15-point lead, and the Ducks were able to hold off a tough Panther squad in the second half for the double-digit win in the consolation game of the Stevens Tip-Off Tournament. TCNJ won the tournament with a win over CSI.
In addition to the 19 and 12, Dudek had eight assists and four of the Ducks' 18 total steals. Stevens forced 24 turnovers as a team while assisting on 20 of its 27 total baskets.
Three Ducks were in double figures; Brittany Fuller had 16 and was 3-for-6 from deep, freshman Jillian Barrett had 12 points on 6-for-11 from the field and Dudek. Sophomore Paige Armstrong also had a solid game, scoring eight points on 4-for-6 shooting and pulling down five rebounds.
Stevens shot 48.5 percent from the field in the first half and 40.3 percent for the game. The Ducks held the Panthers to 34.8 percent as the solid Stevens defense was the biggest reason for the win.
Leading 15-12 with 13:04 to go in the first half, Stevens went on the 12-nothing run to builds its 15-point lead. Dudek and Barret each scored four points during the outburst.
Middlebury (0-2) was able to chip away and get the lead under 10 late in the half, but the Ducks were able to go into intermission with a 40-30 lead.
The Ducks came out strong in the second, pushing the lead to 15 after Barrett buried a jump shot with 13:25 to go. The teams traded baskets for a several possessions before the Panthers went on a run of their own.
Down 55-40 with 8:44 on the clock, Middlebury ran off 11-straight to get within four but could not get over the top as freshman Dawn Garcia drained her second three of the day to get the lead back to seven. Dudek then hit a layup to push the lead to nine as Stevens was able to hold on for the win.
Middlebury was led by 19 points from Ashley Barron (Brockton, Mass) and 10 from sophomore Lauren Sanchez (Edmonds, Wash.). Both Dudek and Barron were named to the all-tournament team.
Stevens returns to the hardwood on Wednesday evening when the Ducks host Rutgers University – Newark at 7 p.m.