HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 23, 2010) – Senior co-captain Sarah Gehring tied a school record with six three-pointers as the Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team secured a 73-45 win over Elmira College in its season finale. The Ducks, down five at the half, outscored their Soaring Eagles counterparts 48-15 in the second to win going away. Stevens wraps up its regular season with a 16-9 overall record and a 12-4 conference mark, while Elmira fell to 4-21 on the year with a 2-14 league ledger.
Elmira stormed out of the gate early, taking an 8-2 lead on an Erin Rupell (Lehighton, Pa.) jumper. Stevens responded with a 6-2 run of its own, capped off by a Gehring triple to cut the lead to two at the 14:52 mark.
Still ahead by two after a Victoria O'Connor layup, Elmira rattled off a 14-8 run, capped off by a Amanda Lawlor (Cortland, N.Y.) three to push the lead to eight. Lawlor increased the lead to 10 at 28-18 with just over five minutes to play in the half before four-straight Duck free-throws from sophomore guard Dawn Garcia and Fuller pared the margin to six.
Gehring cut the Stevens' deficit to three with another trey, but Soaring Eagles' junior forward Becca Fretz (Kunkletown, Pa.) hit a jumper with one second left in the first to stake Elmira to a five-point edge heading into the locker room.
Stevens opened up scoring in the second half with a Fuller jumper at 18:39, cutting the Soaring Eagles' lead to three, but a Becky Peterman (Glen Gardner, N.J.) trey on the ensuing Elmira possession quickly doubled the margin. Still down six after a Rupell layup at 17:33, the Ducks embarked on a 12-2 over the next four and a half minutes to take a four-point edge.
Elmira senior guard Alysha Giarra (Ridgefield Park, N.J.) momentarily quelled the Stevens tide with a bucket at 12:38, cutting it to two, but the Ducks rattled off a 9-2 run capped off by a Fuller triple to go up 50-41 with just over 10 minutes left. A Kathleen Schuckers jumper coupled with an O'Connor layup upped the lead to 13 before Fretz finally broke a four and a half minute Soaring Eagles scoring drought with a basket at 6:46.
From there, Stevens continued to pour it on, with Gehring and Garcia hitting back-to-back threes before a Paige Armstrong layup gave the Ducks a 19-point cushion. Schuckers and Armstrong then combined to score the game's next six points, before Gehring's record-tying three made it a 71-43 contest, all but sealing the Stevens win and with it the second seed in the upcoming Empire 8 Tournament.
Gehring went 7-for-9 from the floor and 6-for-8 from beyond the arc, finishing with a game-high 20 points, while Fuller added 11 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists. Barrett added 14 points and three steals, while Garcia rounded out the list of Ducks in double-figures with10.
Rupell led the way for Elmira with 15 points, while senior Chelsey Kent (Sherman, N.Y.) had eight points and three boards.
The Ducks shot 46.0 percent (29-for-63) from the floor including a 20-for-34 (58.8 percent) showing in the second half. Elmira shot just 24.6 percent (15-for-61) from the field, mustering just five field-goals (5-for-33), while shooting 15.2 percent in the second stanza. The stifling Ducks' defense held the Soaring Eagles to just four points over the final 11:08, allowing just one field-goal on 1-for-16 shooting.
Stevens, slated second in the upcoming Empire 8 Women's Basketball Tournament, will face third-seeded Utica College in one of the championship's semifinals on Friday, February 26. Stevens and Utica split a pair of games this season, with the Pioneers winning 58-51 in Utica before the Ducks secured a 67-64 victory in Canavan Arena in the rematch.
