ROCHESTER, N.Y. (February 13, 2009) – Senior point guard Dani Dudek tied her season-high of 24 points as the Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team fell to Empire 8 foe Rochester Institute of Technology Friday evening in Rochester, N.Y. Having trailed the entire game, the Ducks took their only lead with 29 seconds to go up by one (62-61). However, the Tigers responded after a timeout with some nifty passing under the basket to regain the advantage with eight seconds remaining. Freshman guard Melissa Collier tried to win it for Stevens in the final seconds, but her jumper sailed just right of the rim. The Ducks fall to 17-5 on the year and 9-4 in league action. It was the first Empire 8 win for RIT and its fourth of the season (4-18, 1-12).
The Ducks came out cold in the first half and trailed at one point by 12. Stevens shot 24.2 percent from the floor, while the Tigers notched a 41.2 shooting percentage in the first 20 minutes. With 5:08 to go before intermission, Stevens cut the deficit from 12 to five points as Dudek notched six in the four-minute span. Junior guard Danielle Furman (Coudersport, Pa.) nailed a jumper just before the buzzer to send the Tigers into their locker room ahead by seven (31-24).
With 9:10 left to play in the game, Stevens tied it at 41-all after sophomore forward Cindy Hassler converted the traditional three-point play after being fouled off a layup. However, RIT posted six quick points to regain its lead. The Ducks would not back down as they brought the contest within one (49-48) with 5:38 left in the second half. Stevens closed on the six-point deficit as Dudek registered five points on a layup and jumper, followed by a free-throw. It was freshman forward Sharon Dennis (Liverpool, N.Y.) that lit the scoreboard up for RIT. Dennis, who scored 23 points on the night assisted in orchestrating the push needed to put the Tigers back on top. RIT led 60-52 with 2:35 left to go.
Most of the weight fell on Dudek to bring Stevens back within one. After having nailed a pair of free-throws, Dudek drained her only three-pointer of the game to bring the Ducks within four (61-57) with 2:12 remaining in the game. After a missed layup by the Tigers, Hassler dished out a nice feed to junior forward Brittany Fuller inside the paint for an easy lay in. She was fouled on the play and sunk her free-throw to bring the Ducks back within one (61-60) with 1:25 to go. After a turnover by the Tigers, Dudek came through on a jumper to give Stevens its first lead of the night. However, RIT found the open player underneath the hoop with eight seconds to go as freshman forward Charlie Scott-McGrail (Batavia, N.Y.) was the hero with her layup that put RIT back on top in the closing seconds.
Overall, Stevens shot 32.8 percent from the field and was out-rebounded 47-44. The Ducks received strong contributions from their bench as they were responsible for 22 of the points scored. Dudek led with 24 points, eight rebounds and four assists. She was also a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity line. Hassler and Collier each posted 11 points apiece as Hassler was 2-for-4 from downtown, while Collier pulled in six boards. Fuller led in total rebounds with nine.
RIT was led by Dennis, who accumulated 23 points on nine of 22 shooting. She also had a game-high 20 total rebounds Scott-McGrail landed 17 points and Furman notched 10 in the win.
Stevens will return to action on Sunday in its last home regular season home game of the 2008-09 season. The Ducks will face Utica College at 2 p.m. in the Canavan Arena. Stevens defeated the Pioneers just over a month ago, 71-58.
