HOBOKEN, N.J. (January 6, 2015) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team ended the game on 15-6 run Tuesday to clinch a 55-52 comeback win over Utica College in Hoboken.
The eight straight win for the Ducks moved their record to 8-1 while Utica fell to 4-8.
Junior
Kaitlyn Astel led the Ducks with 18 points which included four free throws in the final minute. Junior
Miranda Ripken chipped-in with 10 points while sophomore
Brittany Washington added seven points and seven rebounds.
As a team, Stevens shot 75 percent from the free throw line and held Utica to 32.8 percent from the field.
Stevens built a 16-12 lead through the first 12 minutes before Guketlov extended it with a three pointer during the seven minute mark. Utica got one back with a free throw, but Guketlov answered with a jumper before assisting on an Astel layup to give the Ducks the 23-15 lead with five and a half minutes remaining.
Guketlov and Ripken each connected on jumpers in the final four minutes to account for the rest of the team's first half scoring as the Ducks took a 27-23 lead into the break.
Utica opened the second half on a 6-0 run to take a two point lead, but Stevens responded with scores on three consecutive possessions by sophomore
Brittany Washington, Astel, and Ripken to regain the four point lead.
From there, Stevens struggled to get its offense going again as a 14-4 Utica run put the Ducks down by six with eight and half minutes remaining. The Pioneers maintained the lead over the next four minutes before the Ducks regained it off a three point play from freshman
Anna Toke to put them up by two.
Ripken made it a four point lead less than one minute later with a jumper before a pair of free throws from Astel with 10 seconds remaining clinched the victory.
The Ducks will hit the road this weekend where they'll battle St. John Fisher College on Friday at 6 p.m. followed by a matchup with Nazareth College on Saturday at 2 p.m.
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