Women's Basketball Falls Short Against Babson

11/21/2009 12:00:00 AM

HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 21, 2009) – Despite a game-high 19 points from sophomore guard Dawn Garcia, the Stevens Institute of Technology fell to Babson College, 66-56, in the championship game of the 2009 Stevens Tip-Off Tournament in Hoboken, N.J. The Beavers, down 35-23 at the half, used a 17-0 run to start the second en route to their second victory of the season. The Ducks are now 2-1 on the year.

With the game knotted at six at the 15:36 mark, junior center Victoria O'Connor connected on a jumper, kicking off an 8-0 Ducks run. Up six after a Michelle Kenel (Rockaway Beach, N.Y.) jumper, Stevens junior forward Cynthia Hassler and Garcia netted back-to-back triples to up the Ducks' lead to 12.

Down 11 with 5:41 remaining in the first half, Beavers junior guard Becky Bowman (Melrose, Mass.) buried a three of her own to pare the deficit to eight, but Stevens would outscore Babson 10-6 down the stretch to take a 12 point lead into the intermission.

The Beavers came out firing to start the second, rattling off 17 unanswered points taking a five-point advantage just under the 13-minute mark after a Kelsey Olivere (Braintree, Mass.) three. Sophomore Nicole Wurdeman (Rowley, Mass.) netted five-straight points to start the run, as the Beavers got scoring from six different players during the crucial stretch.

Hoping to jumpstart the Ducks, sophomore guard Kathleen Schuckers nabbed back-to-back steals that turned into four-straight Stevens points as the Ducks trimmed the margin to one. Still down one with just over nine minutes left, sophomore forward Kathleen King (Framingham, Mass.) knocked down a pair of free-throws to push the lead to three, but four-straight Garcia points helped the Ducks regain the edge, 46-44.

A Hassler triple coupled with a Schuckers layup gave Stevens a five-point cushion at the six and a half minute mark, but King hit another jumper to slice the lead to three, while starting a 12-1 Beaver run over the next three and a half minutes, that gave Babson a 60-52 lead. The Beavers would shut the door on the Ducks down the stretch, connecting on all six of its free-throws in the final two minutes to seal the victory.

In addition to her game-high 19 points Garcia added three rebounds and three steals, while Fuller, who earned all-tournament honors for her efforts, tallied 14 points and five boards. Hassler chipped in with eight points and four rebounds in the loss.

King, who captured all-tournament Most Valuable Player honors, led the way for the Beavers with 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Bowman, also an all-tournament honoree, finished with 14 points. Freshman Sarah Collins (Weymouth, Mass.) added 13 points, while Wurdeman finished with eight points and nine rebounds.

Babson shot 55.6 percent from the floor in the second half after a 10-for-29 (34.5) showing in the first. Stevens while shot a blistering 16-for-26 (61.5) over the first 20 minutes, but managed to go just 6-for-33 (18.2) in the second half.

In the 2009 Stevens Tip-Off Tournament Consolation game, Wesleyan University defeated New Jersey City University, 70-54. Three Cardinals topped the double-digit scoring plateau with junior Erin Gold (New Hope, Pa.) and sophomores Sam LaCroce (Prospect, Conn.) and Eileen Gaffney (Manhasset, N.Y.), netting 14, 18, and 13 points, respectively. Gaffney, who also recorded eight rebounds and three steals, was named to the all-tournament team.

Junior Miesha Cooke (Paterson, N.J.) paved the way for NJCU, totaling a team-high 17 points and eight rebounds en route to all-tournament honors. Freshman point guard Latifah Johnson (Newark, N.J.) had 12 points and six steals in the loss.

Stevens returns to action on Tuesday, November 24 against William Paterson University.
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