WAYNE, N.J. (November 30, 2008) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team won the Red Hawk/Pioneer Classic in Wayne, N.J. on Sunday afternoon with a solid 76-73 win over William Paterson University. Senior guard Dani Dudek was named the tournament MVP after scoring 16 points, dishing out 12 assists, and grabbing nine rebounds in the championship game. Sophomore center Paige Armstrong also had a big day, scoring 15 points and grabbing 15 boards as all five Stevens starters scored in double figures. It is the sixth win in a row for the Ducks after dropping their season opener.
Stevens held a 46-33 lead at the half, but William Paterson clawed back in the second to make it a tight game.
The Ducks came out on fire, making eight of their first 13 shots to open an 11-point lead (18-7) with 13:43 left in the half. The Pioneers fought back, evening the contest at 24-24 (8:15), but Stevens scored 13 of the game's next 15 points for a commanding 37-26 advantage with 4:21 remaining during the opening period. Sophomore forward Victoria Webber drilled a three and junior forward Brittany Fuller added a pair of buckets to combine for seven of the nine points posted by the Ducks in the remaining minutes.
Stevens extended its lead to as many as 16 (62-46) in the first eight minutes of the second half, before William Paterson responded with 10 straight points. Sophomore forward April Smith (Barnegat, N.J.) started it off with a jumper, followed by two free throws and a basket by sophomore forward Absatu Mustapha (Somerset, N.J.). Then two-straight buckets by junior guard Julie Haledjian (Montvale, N.J.) made it a 62-59 score with 8:58 on the clock. The Ducks responded as Armstrong answered with two shots from the charity stripe followed by a huge three from Fuller (67-59).
The Pioneers forged a 68-68 tie, and then got a triple from Haledjian for their first lead of the game with 2:55 remaing. Two-straight Stevens layups and a pair of Armstrong foul shots made it a 74-71 lead with 1:38 remaining. Mustapha cut the advantage back to one with a basket 18 seconds later. Dudek converted a fast-break layup with 1:00 on the clock (76-73) before William Paterson missed a shot from beyond the arc and committed a turnover. Stevens allowed the Pioneers to stay within a possession, twice missing the front end of one-and-one trips to the line. An Armstrong miss in the lane allowed the Pioneers one last chance to tie the contest, but Paterson could not connect from defeat.
Fuller had 13, Webber with 12 and junior guard Sarah Gehring posted 10. Stevens shot 47.8 percent from the floor and was six of 16 from downtown. The Ducks were six of 11 from the line, five of which came from Armstrong late in the game. Stevens slightly out-rebounded the Pioneers 43-42 and also posted 14 turnovers compared to 12 of William Paterson.
Stevens will return to action to host Worcester State College next Saturday at the Canavan Arena scheduled for a 2 p.m. start.
