ITHACA, N.Y. (February 22, 2008) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team shot just 28.6 percent (20-for-70) from the floor on Friday evening at Ben Light Gymnasium to get its first in-conference defeat at Ithaca College (68-57) in the final regular-season game for the Ducks. With the loss, Stevens finished up the year with an overall record of 20-5 and an Empire 8 mark of 15-1. As for the Bombers, they improved to 15-9 and 13-2.
The Ducks also shot 22.2 percent (6-for-27) from downtown and 73.3 percent (11-for-15) from the free-throw line. Junior guard Dani Dudek finished out the evening with a team-high 11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Senior forward Dora Enright scored 11 points as well. She also brought down six boards. Senior guard Jean Matusiak added nine points and six rebounds.
Ithaca shot 42.2 percent (19-of-45) from the field, 34.6 percent (9-of-26) from long range and 75.0 percent (21-of-28) from the charity stripe. Sophomore guard Katherine Bixby (Philadelphia, Pa.) tallied a game-high 18 points. She also dished out a team-high eight assists. Senior forward/center Erika Steele (Hopkinton, Mass.) posted a double-double with 17 points and 10 boards. Sophomore guard Lindsay Brown (Danbury, Conn.) recorded 15 points on 5-for-11 shooting.
Leading 16-15 with just under 11 minutes to go in the first half, Stevens used an 8-1 run to take a 26-16 lead with 7:28 remaining. Matusiak and freshman forward/guard Victoria Webber each drained a three during the spurt. The Bombers responded with a 7-1 burst to close out the period. It got them within four at 27-23. Senior guard/forward Molly Friel (Pittsburgh, Pa.) got things going with a lay-up, while Brown ended the streak with a trifecta.
In the latter stanza, the two teams were knotted up at 40-all with 7:26 left in regulation. Following a made shot at the free-throw line by Dudek, Brown came back with a three-pointer to give Ithaca a 43-41 lead with 7:07 left. From that point, the Bombers did not look back as it held an advantage throughout the rest of the game.
At the 4:29 mark, the Ducks managed to come within a single point off of another netted basket from the stripe by Dudek but were unable to grab back the lead as Ithaca out-scored Stevens by a 19-9 count in the final minutes.
The Ducks will now prepare for the Empire 8 Tournament, which is scheduled to get underway from the Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. on Friday, February 29. Their opponent has yet to be decided as there is a three-way tie for fourth place in the E8.
St. John Fisher College can earn the spot with a win against Hartwick College and an Elmira College victory over Rochester Institute of Technology. Elmira claims the last remaining seed with a win and a Hartwick decision. RIT gets into the tournament with a victory on the road on Sunday.
The match-up between the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds has been set as Ithaca College will take on Utica College.
