Women's Basketball Falls To Utica In Empire 8 Semifinals

2/26/2010 12:00:00 AM

ITHACA, N.Y. (February 26, 2010) – Four Ducks netted double-figures led by senior co-captain Sarah Gehring's team-high 14 points, but the Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team could not hang onto a nine-point second half lead, falling to Utica College, 64-59, in the Empire 8 Tournament semifinals at Ben Light Gymnasium in Ithaca, N.Y. Junior centers Victoria O'Connor and Paige Armstrong finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively, while sophomore guard Dawn Garcia rounded out the list of Ducks in double-digits with 10.

The Ducks roared out of the gate, netting connecting on three of their first four buckets to take an early, 6-1, lead. Armstrong started things off with a layup at the 19:11 mark, before back-to-back baskets by Gehring and Kathleen Schuckers, following a Katie McGee (Philadelphia, Pa.) free-throw, gave the Ducks the early five-point edge.

Four-straight Jessica Berry (Rome, N.Y.) points quickly pared the lead down to one with just over 15 minutes to go in the half before a Jillian Barrett layup at 12:49 finally ended a five-minute Stevens' scoring drought, upping the lead to three, while kick-starting a 12-2 Ducks rally, capped off by a Schuckers jumper that made it 18-7.

Berry again reeled off four-consecutive points on a pair of free-throws and a layup off a Danielle Busansky (Millersville, Pa.) feed to trim the Pioneers' deficit to seven, but another Schuckers bucket followed by an Armstrong basket and Gehring layup increased the Stevens' advantage to 13 at 24-11.

Utica freshman center Meghan Fiore (Epping, N.H.) then hit a layup to pull the Pioneers within 11 with four and a half minutes left in the first before a Devon Croll (Vernon, N.Y.) three-point play coupled with four-straight Berry points capped off a 9-0 Utica run.

Down six after a Gehring basket at the 1:22 mark, Berry drained a jumper, cutting the lead to 26-22, but an O'Connor basket off a Garcia pass with 33 seconds to go in the half staked the Ducks to a six-point edge heading into the locker room.

Armstrong opened up the scoring in the second half with a basket on Stevens' first possession, increasing the lead to eight, but Croll knocked down a pair from the charity stripe less than a minute later to help Utica keep pace.

Garcia quickly responded by burying the game's first triple, making it 33-24 in favor of the Ducks, but sophomore guard Justine Karst (Olean, N.Y.) hit a jumper from the right elbow on the ensuing Pioneer possession to cut it to seven.

Still down nine after an O'Connor bucket with 15:34 left, Croll rattled off four-straight points to pull Utica within five before a Jessica Snyder (Elbridge, N.Y.) bucket made it a three-point game. Gehring momentarily quelled the Utica tide with a three off a Garcia assist, but four-straight Fiore points and a McGee jumper capped off a 12-3 Pioneer run, knotting the contest at 42.

A pair of Brittany Fuller free-throws at the 11:23 mark helped Stevens regain a two-point lead, but four-consecutive Utica points, capped off by a Berry three-point play gave the Pioneers their first lead of the game at 46-44.

Gehring tied the game at 46 with her fifth basket of the evening, but a pair of Berry free-throws followed by back-to-back Fiore buckets gave Utica its largest lead of the game at 52-46. O'Connor then pulled Stevens within four with a basket at 7:34, kick-starting an 8-0 Ducks run, that put Stevens back on top.

With Utica up 55-54 after a trio of Berry free-throws, Snyder drained a three from the top of the key to put the Pioneers up four. O'Connor responded on the other end with a turnaround in the lane, but a Berry jumper on the ensuing possession upped the lead to four with just under three minutes to go.

Garcia pulled Stevens within one with a three-ball from the top of the circle, but a McGee bucket at 1:24 made it a three-point game. Still down three with 36 seconds left and needing a stop, the Ducks forced a Berry miss, but Fuller misfired from long distance on a desperation heave with the shot-clock running out, sealing the Utica victory.

Berry finished with a game-high 26 points to lead Utica offensively, while Fiore and Croll added 12 and 10 points, respectively.

The Ducks finish the season with a 16-10 overall mark with a 12-4 league ledger. The Pioneers will face tournament host Ithaca College, which earned a 72-66 win over St. John Fisher College in the other semifinal, in the conference's championship game tomorrow, Saturday, February 27, at 3 p.m.
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