Empire 8 Women's Tournament Homepage

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (February 21, 2013) – The Empire 8 Conference released its postseason awards for women's basketball and three members of the Stevens Institute of Technology squad landed on the second- and honorable mention teams. A fourth Duck earned Stevens' Sportswoman of the Year award to round out the team accolades.

Stevens finished up the regular season with a 14-11 overall record and an 8-6 mark within the Empire 8. For the team's efforts, the Ducks will travel up to Hartwick College this weekend for the conference postseason tournament as the No. 4 seed. They will take on the host and second-seeded Hartwick on February 22 at 8 p.m.

Junior forward Avis Benjamin (Queens, N.Y.) was Stevens' honoree to the second-team after starting in all 25 games this season. This is Benjamin's first selection to an all-conference team after leading the Ducks in scoring at 12.8 points per game. She has attempted a team-high 114 free throws this season and is tied for second at 7.1 rebounds per contest. The Queens native is also second on the team with a .416 field goal percentage.

Within the Empire 8, Benjamin ranks eighth in field goal percentage, ninth in scoring and rebounding and 10th in rebounds per game.

Two first-year players found spots on the honorable mention team after stellar freshmen campaigns. Forward Dylan Krause (Atlanta, Ga.) and guard Miranda Ripken (Fallston, Md.) each played integral roles for the Ducks all season long. Both were on the court in each game this season and combined to miss just one start. Krause was second on the Ducks at 12.2 points per game, while Ripken was third at 11.2 per contest. On the boards, Krause tied for second with 7.1 boards per game and Ripken pulled down 5.2 to rank fourth.

From long range, Krause led the Ducks with 43 three-pointers made and shot a team-best .368. Ripken paced the flow of the offense with 67 assists and recorded a team-best 44 steals defensively. They were also the top two shooters at the free throw line at .820 (Krause) and .726 (Ripken), respectively.

Krause is fourth in the Empire 8 in three-point percentage, eighth in rebounds, ninth in rebounds per game, 10th in field goal percentage, 11th in scoring and 12th in steals. Ripken also lands within the top 15 in numerous categories, highlighted by seventh in steals and steals per game. She is also ninth in assists, 13th in field goal percentage and 15th in scoring.

Stevens' selection for Sportswoman of the Year went to junior guard Molly Spadaro (Sewell, N.J.). Spadaro started all 25 games this season and averaged 7.8 points and 4.6 rebounds. In the middle of January, Spadaro posted back-to-back 20-point games against St. John Fisher College and Nazareth College. She netted a career-high 24 points against Fisher in a 78-67 overtime win and accounted for 22 of the team's 53 points in a home loss to Nazareth.

This season, Stevens dropped both showdowns with the 18-7 Hawks but put up a strong fight in both contests. On January 22, the Ducks fell on the road, 69-67, and had two opportunities in the waning seconds of regulation to tie the game but could not get a basket to fall. In the home matchup on January 29, the Ducks dropped a tough 52-46 overtime matchup. Stevens led, 43-40, with 14 seconds left in the game but Hartwick pushed the struggle into extra time by hitting a three-pointer with seven seconds to go. Stevens went just 1-for-7 from the field in overtime, while the Hawks made six free throws.

Hartwick nearly swept the Empire 8 awards, as Maria Foglia was named Empire 8 Player of the Year and Brittney Dumas was the conference's top rookie. Ithaca College's Dan Raymond garnered Coach of the Year honors.

Follow tomorrow night's action via live stats and video on Empire8.tv.