HOBOKEN, N.J. (March 8, 2008) – Senior forward Dora Enright registered a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds as the third-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team pushed past the seventh-seeded College of Staten Island by a 72-63 decision in the semifinals of the 2008 ECAC Division III Metro Championship on Saturday night at the Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. With the win, the Ducks went to 23-6 on the year and will play at top-seeded Montclair State University in the final tomorrow. As for the Dolphins, they fell to 21-8 overall.
After being ahead 26-25 at the intermission thanks to a three-ball with one second left by sophomore forward Brittany Fuller, Stevens and Staten Island opened up the latter half by trading points for the first four-plus minutes. The Ducks eventually led 38-35 with just under 15 minutes remaining.
Shortly thereafter, Stevens rattled off a 15-2 run over a period of 4:57. Enright and sophomore guard Sarah Gehring accounted for 13 points in the streak. Enright had seven points in that time, while Gehring had six points. Junior guard Dani Dudek contributed the other two off a pair of made free throws. That run gave the Ducks a 16-point advantage (53-37), which was their largest lead of the game.
The burst was followed by more back-and-forth action from both teams as the hosts held onto a 61-45 lead with 7:10 to go. However, the Dolphins showed signs of life and were able to piece together a 12-2 spurt in a three-minute span. It got Staten Island within 63-57 with 3:42 remaining.
Junior guard Melanie D'Ambrosi (Staten Island, N.Y.) started the run with a three. Junior guard/forward Nicole Estrada (Brooklyn, N.Y.) capped off the streak with a long-range make of her own. However, Staten Island was unable to pull off the comeback as Stevens tallied nine of the final 15 points to put the game away for good. The Ducks were clutch from the stripe down the stretch as they were 7-of-9 from in the final two minutes.
As a team, Stevens shot 38.1 percent (24-for-63) from the field and 62.5 percent (20-for-32) from the free-throw line. Freshman forward/center Paige Armstrong collected 13 points and nine rebounds. Fuller had 11 points, eight boards, four assists and two steals. Dudek added 10 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Gehring chipped in with six points and nine boards.
The Dolphins shot 33.3 percent (22-for-66) from the floor and 70.6 percent (12-of-17) from the charity stripe. Estrada scored a game-high 23 points. She was 9-for-14 shooting. Junior forward Megan Sullivan (Brooklyn, N.Y.) totaled nine points, 12 rebounds and a pair of steals. Sophomore guard Kristen Panariello (Staten Island, N.Y.) posted a seven-point, six-board, two-assist, two-steal evening.
The Stevens/Montclair game will be a re-match from February 15, where the Ducks fell by a 77-74 count in overtime in Montclair, N.J. Tomorrow's contest is scheduled to get underway at 2 p.m.
