HOBOKEN, N.J. (January 22, 2010) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team improved to 10-6 on the season and 7-2 in Empire 8 play, using a huge second half to down visiting Alfred University, 72-35, at Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. Senior co-captain Sarah Gehring netted 17 points to pace Stevens offensively. The Saxons are now 7-8 on the year and 1-5 against league opponents.
Stevens opened up the game on a 7-2 run capped off by a Gehring three at 14:54, before a Libby Meier (Rochester, N.Y.) layup on the ensuing possession ended a five-minute Alfred drought. The Ducks responded by rattling off six unanswered points to take a 13-4 edge with just under 11-minutes left in the half.
Saxon junior guard Lyndsay Murphy (Almond, N.Y.) later buried a three after corralling a loose ball at 8:31 before hitting a jumper less than a minute later to pull Alfred within four. Stevens sophomore guard Dawn Garcia netted a three of her own just under the seven minute mark before a Paige Armstrong layup coupled with another Gehring three-ball pushed the Duck lead to 12.
Down 10 after an Armstrong jumper at 1:22, Alfred netted six-consecutive points, slicing the deficit to three on a Murphy trey with 29 seconds left on the clock, but a Victoria O'Connor layup on the other end as time expired gave Stevens a six-point advantage heading into the intermission.
Stevens surged out to a 21 point lead after the break, mounting a 15-0 run over the first five minutes of action. Gehring got things started with a pair of free-throws after a Murphy foul, before senior forward Brittany Fuller netted five of the game's next seven points, staking Stevens to a 35-20 lead. Gehring then hit back-to-back threes to make it 41-20 before a Christina Jordan (Cornwall-on-the-Hudson, N.Y.) jumper finally ended the Saxon dryspell.
Unfazed the Ducks continued to pour it on, reeling off 11 straight points over the next two and a half minutes to stretch the lead to 30 with 12:11 left in regulation. Alfred would get as close as 25 with just over four minutes to go, but Stevens closed out the game on a 12-0 run to seal the 72-35 victory.
The Ducks shot 53.8 percent in the second half (14-for-26) and 54.5 percent (6-for-11) from three-point range in the second half, while holding Alfred to a 14.7 (5-for-34) shooting percentage. Stevens, which outscored Alfred 46-15 in the second stanza, also forced 12 Saxon turnovers.
Fuller notched her fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Garcia finished with 13 points, two assists, and two steals. Sophomore guard Kathleen Schuckers chipped in with seven points and a game-high seven assists.
Murphy score 13 points to lead Alfred, while Meier and Jordan combined for 10 points and 14 rebounds.
Stevens will travel to Brooklyn College on January 26 before embarking on a two-day road-trip to league rivals St. John Fisher and Nazareth College on January 29-30.
