HOBOKEN, N.J. (January 20, 2009) – Senior point guard Dani Dudek earned her seventh double-double of the season on 24 points and 10 assists as the Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team picked up its fifth Empire 8 victory of the season in a 70-48 win over Hartwick College Tuesday night in Hoboken, N.J. Dudek was a rebound shy of landing her fifth career triple-double. The Ducks improve to 13-2 on the season and are 5-1 in league action. Hartwick falls to 5-9 overall and 1-5 in Empire 8 play.
The Ducks opened up play with a jumper by Dudek, which was followed up with a field-goal from junior forward Brittany Fuller. The Hawks retaliated with a layup from junior guard Cassie Dresser (Ovid, N.Y.) and a jumper by senior guard Kara Foro. Stevens then trailed for the next five minutes before the score was knotted at 15-all, with 11:40 remaining in the half.
It was back and forth as each team traded field-goals until the Ducks took a slight 26-25 advantage with just over 5:30 to go. Stevens went on a 12-2 run to close out the half, to head into the locker rooms having led 38-27. During that stretch, Fuller hit a three off a dish from Dudek. She then followed up her deep ball with a jumper as Dudek added two more baskets, one right before the buzzer. Stevens went into the half having shot 51.5 percent from the floor. 20 of those points came from inside the paint. There were a total of eight lead changes and the scrore saw two ties in the first 20 minutes of play.
The Hawks fought hard in the second half, and kept the contest relatively close. Stevens led by 11 (47-36), but Hartwick cut the deficit to seven off a three ball from junior guard Lauren Ploof (Hammond, N.Y.), while junior forward Krystle Crouse (Canajoharie, N.Y.) hit one of two free-throws. That would be the closest the Hawks would come as Stevens increased its lead to 19 (59-40) off a 12-4 run with 8:36 remaining in the game. During that span, Dudek and Fuller combined for eight points. Freshman forward Jillian Barrett converted the three-point play after being fouled by senior forward Danee Harrison (Cary, N.C.).
Stevens extended its lead to 21 (67-46) with just under three minutes remaining in regulation. A Barrett layup followed by a pair of made free-throws by Hartwick brought the contest to a close before sophomore forward Cindy Hassler hit a deep three-point field-goal to end it at 70-48, in favor of Stevens.
The Ducks out-rebounded the Hawks 36-32 and shot 53.6 percent from the field. Hartwick was 26.3 from the floor as each team turned the ball over 15 times. A total of 36 points for Stevens came inside the paint as the Ducks kept the Hawks scoreless in the second half from inside the box.
Fuller finished the game with 17 points on seven of 14 shooting. Barrett got her second start of her collegiate career and tallied 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Dudek was 11-for-15 from the floor, had nine rebounds and three steals in 36 minutes. Her 10 assists puts her currently 24th all-time in Division III for career assists as she stands at 597. Senior guard Katie Caddell (Amsterdam, N.Y.) was the leading scorer for the Hawks as she dropped 13 points and hit three three-point field-goals. Harrison led Hartwick with eight total boards.
Stevens will return to action in their third of seven-consecutive home-contests this Friday. The Ducks will host Rochester Institute of Technology at 6 p.m. The game will feature a live webcast by www.Empire8.tv, in addition to live stats.
