HOBOKEN, N.J. (DECEMBER 11, 2015) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team dropped a tough 47-41 contest to No. 11/13 Montclair State University Saturday.
The loss dropped the Ducks to 4-3, while Montclair improved to 7-1.
The Red Hawks scored the first six points of the game, all coming on layups, with Kayla Ceballos tallying four points. Stevens countered with the next five, as senior
Kaitlyn Astel knocked down a trey and sophomore
Anna Toke powered through for a layup. Sage Bennett would hit another layup with 10 seconds left in the opening frame to put MSU up 13-8 after one.
Defense was the key in the opening 20 minutes of play, as the teams combined to shoot 12-of-56 from field, and the Ducks were able to limit their opponents to only five second quarter points while forcing 12 turnovers.
The Ducks grabbed their first lead of the afternoon on a long three-pointer by junior
Erica Guketlov, but Montclair would score six of the next eight, as Ceballos once again connected from deep. After Astel trimmed the deficit to one with 26 seconds left in the third stanza, Ceballos hit a layup with three ticks left to put MSU up three heading into the final quarter.
Stevens kept the Red Hawks within a single possession for most of the fourth quarter, but a free throw by Bennett with 53 seconds left put MSU up two. After the Ducks missed a layup with 40 seconds left, Ceballos missed a layup, but Rachael Krauss ended up with the rebound with eight seconds to go. Krauss stepped to the line and hit four free throws down the stretch to put the game away.
Astel and Ripken combined for 24 points, with Toke grabbing nine rebounds and six points off the bench. Sophomore
Megan Brown had seven rebounds and four blocks in the setback.
Ceballos led all scorers with 20 points, while Kate Tobie had nine points and five steals for Montclair.
The Ducks will be back in action on January 3 to open conference play when they travel to Ithaca.
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