HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 1, 2009) – Senior point guard Dani Dudek landed 16 points on seven of 13 shooting to help the Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team roll over St. John Fisher College, 77-43 on Sunday afternoon in Hoboken, N.J. Three other Ducks scored double figures as Stevens dominated the boards, 51 to 37. With today's win, the Ducks improve to 16-3 overall and 8-2 in league action. The Cardinals fall to 11-7 on the year and 4-5 in conference play.
After turnovers by both squads, Stevens jumped out to an 11-3 lead with 13:47 to go in the half. In that span, junior guard Sarah Gehring buried a pair of threes and added a layup. Dudek hit a jumper as sophomore center Paige Armstrong nailed one of two free-throws. In just over five minutes, the Ducks increased the margin to 16 (21-5). Dudek sparked the 10-2 run with a layup, then on the next possession she connected with freshman guard Dawn Garcia, who nailed a three from the left wing. Sophomore forward Victoria Webber drained a two-point basket as Armstrong hit a pair of free-throws.
Over the next eight minutes, the Ducks tacked on 15 points to go up by 19 (36-17) heading into the half. During that stretch, Dudek tallied seven of the 15 points off of three field-goals and a free-throw. Fisher received 11 points from its bench in the first 20 minutes and hit 17.9 percent from the field. The Ducks scored 14 of their 36 first-half points from inside the paint as Stevens shot 50 percent from the floor.
The Ducks stayed hot entering the second half as they went up by 35 (68-33) with 6:51 remaining in regulation. During that span, junior forward Brittany Fuller scored 12 points on a pair of threes and three two-point baskets inside the paint. Garcia also landed seven on a three ball and two jumpers. Stevens maintained its lead for the final six minutes as the Ducks came away with a 77-43 Empire 8 victory. In the second half, Stevens got 18 points from its bench and scored 16 points from inside the paint.
Overall, the Ducks shot 52.5 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Cardinals 51 to 37. Stevens was 7 of 10 from behind the arc as Garcia, Fuller and Gehring each tallied two apiece. Garcia finished the game with 10 points and eight rebounds. Fuller tallied 12 points, while Gehring posted 11 points and five boards. Dudek dished out nine assists on the day and pulled down seven total rebounds. Freshman forward Jillian Barrett recorded a team-high 13 rebounds and added three assists in the win.
Fisher shot 23.4 percent from the field and received 21 points from its bench. Freshman guard Meghan Soja (Whitesboro, N.Y.) led with 11 points and four rebounds. She was a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe. Sophomore guard Stephanie Sweeney (Albany, N.Y.) registered 10 points and four boards.
Stevens will return to action on Friday at 6 p.m. as the Ducks host Alfred University in the seventh-straight home game of the season at the Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. Following that matchup, Stevens will have five more games left in regular season play; all of which are league contests. Friday's game will be webcasted at www.Empire8.tv and will feature live stats as well.
