Comeback Falls Short As Women's Basketball Suffers Just Third Loss Of The Season

1/25/2011 12:00:00 AM

ONEONTA, N.Y. (January 25, 2011) – Junior forward Jillian Barrett poured in a game-high 24 points on 8-for-11 shooting, while grabbing 10 rebounds, but the Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team fell to Empire 8 rival Hartwick College, 67-58, at Lambros Arena in Oneonta, N.Y. With the loss, the Ducks fell to 13-3 overall on the season with a 6-2 league ledger, while the host Hawks improved to 6-9 on the year with a 3-5 mark against conference opponents.

Stevens opened the game on an 8-1 run going up seven on a Dawn Garcia three and five-consecutive Barrett points. Looking to settle into the game, Hartwick strung together a 6-2 run of its own over the next minute and a half of action to pare the Ducks' lead to 10-7.

Hoping to rebuild their lead, Stevens answered with a quick 4-0 spurt, capped off by three-straight Victoria Webber points, to go back up seven with just over 13 minutes remaining in the first half. Undaunted, the Hawks again answered, this time rattling off seven-consecutive points, knotting the game at 14 on a Maria Foglia (Rensselaer, N.Y.) three-point play.

Ducks' junior Isaura Guzman momentarily stemmed the Hartwick tide with her first three of the evening, but the Hawks would notch the game's next three points from the charity stripe to deadlock the contest at 17. Trying to keep the momentum going, freshman guard Lee Arduini (Albany, N.Y.) netted five-straight on a triple and a layup before freshman Katrina Caulfield (Palmer, Mass.) staked Hartwick to a 24-17 edge at the 6:26 mark.

Webber quickly sliced the lead to four with a three, but a 10-2 run over the next three minutes of action – capped off by a Fritzi Flores (Bergenfield, N.J.) trey – extended the Hawks' lead to 12. Aiming to keep Stevens within striking distance, Barrett tallied five of the game's next 11 points, trimming the Ducks' deficit to 37-30 heading into the intermission.

Continuing to build its cushion, Hartwick reeled off a 6-2 run to start the second half, pushing the lead to 11 on a Samantha Fox (Hartwick, N.Y.) jumper with 15:08 remaining. The Ducks responded with a 7-2 rally, cutting the Hawks' lead to six on a Barrett layup.

Hoping to stave off a Stevens comeback bid, freshman Tracey Koch (Glenmont, N.Y.) and Caulfield notched back-to-back baskets, but Barrett continued to keep the Ducks close, netting four-straight points to make it 49-43 with 7:55 to go. Down nine with just under six minutes left, Webber connected on consecutive buckets to pull Stevens within five, but seven unanswered Hartwick points gave the hometown Hawks a 12-point lead they would not relinquish.

Webber finished with 23 points and eight rebounds in the loss, while Garcia and seniors Paige Armstrong and Brianne Lavin combined for eight points, 14 rebounds, and six assists. Flores and Caulfield led Hartwick with 13 points apiece, while freshman guard Kate Purcell (Buffalo, N.Y.) finished with 10 points and 11 assists. Koch and Foglia chipped in with nine and eight points, respectively.

Stevens will look to rebound on Friday, January 28 against league rival Utica College.
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