ELMIRA, N.Y. (February 20, 2009) – Freshman Melissa Collier tallied 20 points on nine of 11 shooting to help lead the Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team to a 84-65 win over Elmira College Friday evening in Elmira, N.Y. The Ducks shot 50.7 percent from the floor and out-rebounded the Soaring Eagles 43-25 as Stevens improves to 19-5 on the year and 11-4 in Empire 8 play.
The Ducks battled back from a five-point deficit to bring the game to an 11-11 tie with 14:26 left in the first half. The game was then knotted at 15-all off back-to-back layups from senior point guard Dani Dudek. From then on Stevens built a lead and carried it into the second half. The Ducks received eight points from their bench as Collier was six of seven from the floor for 14 points with three rebounds. Stevens went into the locker room with a 35-29 advantage.
The Soaring Eagles brought the game within a point (40-39); however a Collier field-goal put the Ducks back up by three. Stevens grew its lead to 11 (55-44) off six points from Dudek and a three ball by sophomore forward Cindy Hassler. Elmira came back within six (58-64) with 5:52 remaining in regulation after sophomore guard Becky Peterman (Glen Gardner, N.J.) buried a three-pointer. It was the closest that the Soaring Eagles would come as the Ducks notched a 20-point lead with 2:11 to go. Collier finished the game with a layup to produce her career-high 20-point outing.
Stevens totaled 36 points from its bench and scored 48 of its 84 points from inside the paint. The Ducks were 11-for-16 from the line and hit five three-point field-goals in the win. Freshman forward Jillian Barrett had a season-high 16 points and pulled in three boards. Dudek notched 13 points, nine assists and eight total rebounds for Stevens. She is currently tied for eighth all-time in NCAA history for a career assists by a women's basketball player as she stands at 660. Hassler knocked down a pair of threes and tallied 10 points during her performance. Sophomore center Paige Armstrong finished with eight points and eight rebounds.
The Ducks will return to the court tomorrow for their last regular season game on Saturday against Hartwick College, scheduled for a 2 p.m. start in Oneonta, N.Y.
