ITHACA, N.Y. (February 10, 2009) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team dropped its fourth regular season game of the year and third in Empire 8 play as the Ducks fell in the closing seconds, 61-60 to Ithaca College Tuesday night in Ithaca, N.Y. With 14 seconds remaining, the Ducks watched their two-point advantage slip away when the Bombers nailed their ninth three-pointer of the contest to grab its only lead of the second half. Stevens had two attempts in the final seconds, however could not convert as the Ducks fall to 17-4 overall and 9-3 in league action.

Trailing 4-0 to start, the Ducks went on a 15-7 run in the first seven minutes of play. During that stretch, the freshmen duo of Dawn Garcia and Jillian Barrett combined for 11 points. Garcia hit a pair of three-pointers off the dish of senior point guard Dani Dudek. Stevens maintained a lead throughout and jumped ahead by 12 (33-21), with under three minutes to go in the first half.

A quick five points by the Bombers on a three ball and short jumper cut the deficit to six (34-28). With 26 seconds left, Garcia drilled her fifth field-goal of the game to close out the first 20 minutes having scored 14 points on four three-pointers and a jumper.

With 10:20 remaining in regulation, the Ducks held a 12-point advantage having led 52-40. However, the Bombers were resilient as they were able to bring the game within three (53-50). Ithaca posted the 10-1 run fueled by the offensive might of sophomore forward Elissa Klie (Wyckoff, N.J.), who produced six points during that span. It was junior guard Lindsay Brown (Danbury, Conn.), who buried a field-goal from behind the arc, which made it a three-point game with 6:30 remaining.

From that point forward it was neck and neck all the way as Ithaca continued to bring the score within two. Stevens built its lead to five (60-55) with 2:39 remaining. Following a missed free-throw by junior forward Brittany Fuller, the Bombers snagged the rebound and found an open Brown, who lined up a three ball, fired and found the bottom of the net to bring Ithaca within two.

The following three offensive possessions by the Ducks were unsuccessful, setting Ithaca up for its last try. After a timeout by the Bombers, Brown turned it over to Stevens when Garcia came away with a steal. She was immediately fouled and went to the charity stripe for two shots. Garcia missed both, which allowed Klie to pull in the rebound, push it up to Brown, who dialed up her fourth three ball of the game to put Ithaca on top for the first time of the half (61-60). With six seconds remaining, Dudek missed her attempt inside the paint as Fuller snagged the offensive board and went up. She too was unsuccessful as Stevens drops a heartbreaker to Ithaca in the closing seconds.

The Ducks shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half, but only 28 percent in the second. Stevens was also outscored 21-30 in the final 20 minutes. The Ducks struggled at the free-throw line having gone 9-for-16. Garcia posted 14 first-half points but was quiet in the second. Dudek finished with 12 points, eight boards and five assists. Fuller and Barrett tallied 10 points apiece, as Fuller led the team with 11 total rebounds. Freshman guard Melissa Collier notched 10 points on five of 11 shooting.

Stevens will return to the court on Friday when it travels to Rochester, N.Y. to take on Rochester Institute of Technology at 6 p.m. In their last meeting just over three weeks ago, the Ducks dropped 100 points on the Tigers in a 100-48 outcome.