MONTCLAIR, N.J. (March 5, 2008) – Senior forward Dora Enright posted a double-double with 17 points and 18 rebounds on Sunday afternoon to assist the third-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team in claiming its first-ever ECAC Division III Metro Championship. The Ducks defeated the top-seeded Red Hawks of Montclair State University, 57-50, at the Panzer Gymnasium in Montclair, N.J. She was tabbed as the most valuable player of the tournament for her effort.
On another note, Enright became the all-time leading scorer at Stevens. Coming into today's contest, she had a four-year total of 1,687 points. After her last game in a Duck uniform, Enright now has 1,704 points, which places her atop the list. She surpassed former standout Aracely Cruz, who totaled 1,701 points from 2000-2004. Furthermore, Enright reached the 1,100-rebound plateau after entering with an amount of 1,083 boards.
Leading 10-6 with 14-plus minutes to go in the first half, Stevens put together a short 6-2 run in a span of 3:24 to take a 16-8 lead with 11:20 remaining. Junior guard Dani Dudek got the spurt going with a jay. Enright followed by making one of two shots from the free-throw line. Freshman forward/guard Victoria Webber capped it off with a three-ball.
After that, Montclair went on an 8-4 burst over a period of 2:36 to get within four (20-16). Sophomore guard Kisandra Ayanbeku (Burlington, Mass.) started it with a lay-up. Senior guard Cynthia Warrington (Villas, N.J.) ended it with two converted free throws for the Red Hawks (19-11).
The Ducks (24-6) closed out the half on a 10-4 run to grab hold of a 30-20 advantage heading into the locker room. Enright tallied four points in the streak. She had a game-high seven points and eight rebounds at intermission.
In the second half, Stevens was still hanging on to a 10-point lead (36-26) with just over 13 minutes left in regulation. The hosts then went on to score 12 of the next 18 points over the next eight minutes of action to knot the game up at 42-all. Sophomore guard Jackie Berry (Tuckerton, N.J.) led the Red Hawks with six points. Junior guard Marianne McGovern (Fair Lawn, N.J.) had five points. Senior guard Jessica Garrabrant (Denville, N.J.) added four points.
That spurt was followed by a 15-3 run over a four-minute stretch by the Ducks, which put the contest away for good. Dudek scored the first six points off two jumpers and a lay-up, while Enright contributed four points. The streak gave the visitors a 57-45 advantage with 33 seconds to go.
Stevens shot 40.7 percent (22-for-54) from the field and 61.1 percent (11-for-18) from the foul line. Dudek finished with 12 points, three rebounds and three assists. Freshman forward/center Paige Armstrong added 10 points and three boards. Sophomore guard Sarah Gehring totaled seven points.
Montclair shot 36.5 percent (19-of-52) from the floor and 75.0 percent (9-of-12) from the stripe. Berry notched 14 points, seven rebounds and four steals. McGovern amassed 11 points on 5-for-11 shooting. Sophomore forward Catherine Cristino (Farmingdale, N.J.) compiled eight points, three boards and three blocks.
This game concludes the 2007-08 campaign for the Ducks. They will look to ride their success into the 2008-09 season as head coach Jon Hochberg will enter his fourth season at the helm.
