ONEONTA, N.Y. (February 10, 2008) – Junior guard Dani Dudek posted a double-double performance with 17 points and 15 rebounds as the Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team got by Hartwick College, 67-49, at the Binder Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon in Oneonta, N.Y. With the victory, the Ducks are 19-3 and 14-0 in the Empire 8. They also recorded their 12th consecutive win, which breaks a school record (11) that was set during the 2005-06 campaign. As for the Hawks, they fell to 4-16 and 3-9 in league action.
Leading by one point (10-9) with 13:19 to go in the first half, Hartwick opened up a 10-0 run to take a 20-9 lead with just over nine minutes remaining. Freshman forward Sarah Waltersdorf (Clifton Park, N.Y.) scored the first five points of the streak. Sophomore forward Samantha Galm (Kingston, N.Y.) capped it off with one of her three trifectas on the day.
Stevens quickly responded with an 11-2 burst in a four-minute stretch to cut the deficit to 22-20. Dudek began the spurt with a pair of lay-ups. She also ended it with two made free-throws. Dudek collected 11 points, seven rebounds and two steals in the opening stanza. She was 3-of-5 from the floor and 5-of-5 from the foul line,
The Ducks managed to go into the intermission with a 27-26 advantage after a converted three-point play by Dudek with 34 seconds left. Freshman guard Fritzi Flores (Bergenfield, N.J.) fouled Dudek as she put in the lay-up.
In the second half, Stevens jumped out of the gate early. Knotted up at 29-all with 18 minutes to go in regulation, the Ducks notched a 17-4 run in a span of 6:13 to clutch a 46-33 lead with 11:47 remaining. Sophomore forward Brittany Fuller and senior guard Jean Matusiak sparked the streak with back-to-back threes. Freshman forward/guard Victoria Webber tallied the final five points of the burst on a lay-up and long-range jay.
Following five minutes that went back and forth, the Hawks got within nine (56-47) on a free-throw by sophomore guard Heather Pruchansky (Naples, Fla.) with 5:47 left. After that, the Ducks put the contest away for good with a 10-0 spurt in a period of 3:59 to grab hold of their largest lead of the afternoon (67-47). Senior forward Dora Enright recorded eight straight points off of a jumper and three lay-ups.
Stevens shot 40.0 percent (26-for-65) from the field, 46.7 percent (7-for-15) from downtown and 81.5 percent (8-for-13) from the charity stripe. Enright picked up a game-high 19 points. She also crashed the glass for six rebounds. Webber added 11 points, three steals and two rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench. Matusiak contributed 10 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Hartwick shot 26.5 percent (18-of-68) from field-goal range and 72.7 percent (8-of-11) from the foul line. Waltersdorf finished with a double-double (19 points, 14 rebounds). Junior forward Danee Harrison (Ansonia, Conn.) compiled eight points, nine boards, three steals and two blocks. Galm registered nine points, four rebounds and three steals.
The Ducks return to action this Friday when they travel to Montclair, N.J. for a non-conference match-up at Montclair State University. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
