ONEONTA, N.Y. (February 21, 2009) – Sophomore center Paige Armstrong posted a season-high 18 points and pulled in eight boards to help the Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team close out its regular season with a 67-53 win over Hartwick College. Junior forward Brittany Fuller buried four threes en route to 16 points as the Ducks improve to 20-5 on the year and 12-4 in Empire 8 play. For the fourth season in a row and with Head Coach Jon Hochberg at the helm, Stevens has reached 20 wins in a season. Aside from Hochberg's tenure, the only other season the Ducks have produced 20 wins was during the 2001-02 campaign. The Ducks clinched a seed in this year's Empire 8 Championship with last week's win over Utica College and will wait to see where they fall within the top four of the conference.
Stevens jumped out to any early lead off a three ball from Fuller and a pair of buckets from Armstrong before the Hawks could knot it at 13-all. The Ducks posted a 20-8 run over the next 10 minutes to grab a 33-21 advantage with 2:37 remaining in the half. During that stretch, Armstrong tallied six points as Fuller landed her second three-pointer. Senior point guard Dani Dudek drilled a jumper, while sophomore forward Cindy Hassler capped off the scoring spurt with a three-point field-goal. Stevens finished the first half ahead by nine (35-26), having shot 45.5 percent from the floor.
The Ducks were on fire in the second half as they increased their margin to 18 points (50-32) with 10:33 left in regulation. Hartwick closed within nine on a 13-4 run as sophomore forward Brooke Anderson (Hopkinton, Maine) and junior guard Lauren Ploof (Hammond, N.Y.) combined for eight of the points. However, Stevens went back up by 16 (64-48) with 2:57 remaining in the contest. Dudek and Armstrong each tallied four points during the four-minute span. Turnovers by both squads concluded play as the Hawks fell to 12-13 on the season and 7-9 in league action.
Stevens out-rebounded Hartwick 40-38 and shot 43 percent from the field over the course of the game. The Ducks received 20 points from their bench and recorded 22 points of their 67 from inside the paint. Dudek finished with nine points, six assists and five total rebounds. Freshman guard Dawn Garcia tallied six points on a pair of threes in the win. In tonight's win, Fuller's four three-point field-goals brought her career total to 163. The junior is now the all-time leader at Stevens for the most three-pointers made in a player's career.
Next weekend will feature the Empire 8 Championships as seed placements and time of games have yet to been announced. Check back during the week for more details regarding the conference tournament at www.stevensducks.com.
