HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 25, 2017) – Sophomore
Elena Sanchez's three-point shot rimmed out at the final buzzer as a huge fourth-quarter rally fell just inches short as the top-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology women's fell to the second-seeded Ithaca College Bombers, 77-74 Saturday at Canavan Arena.
Graduate student
Kaitlyn Astel scored a game-high 24 points and junior
Megan Brown added 22 points for the Ducks, who trailed by as many 15 points in the fourth quarter before staging a valiant rally that nearly forced overtime.
Junior
Anna Toke recorded her second double-double of the tournament with 16 points and 16 rebounds. The 16-rebound effort matched a career-high as Stevens fell to 16-10.
Ali Ricchiuti led Ithaca with 23 points, including two "banked-in" three-point baskets with the shot clock expiring. The senior guard was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Julie Yacovoni added 16 for Ithaca, who improved to 24-3 on the season.
Key Moment
- Erin Ferguson scored Ithaca's final points with 2:42 to play. The Bombers were leading 75-64.
- An Astel jumper began the Stevens rally and head coach Megan Haughey called timeout to give instructions for the final plays of the game.
- Back-to-back short-range misses followed by a successful tie-up of Ferguson by senior Erica Guketlov returned the ball to the Ducks.
- Sanchez found a slashing Toke, who trimmed the lead to seven.
- After an Ithaca timeout, the Ducks attempted to force quick steals and began sending the Bombers to the line.
- After Ricchiuti missed her first two attempts, Guketlov found Brown for a nifty layup that cut the margin to five.
- Six straight missed produced two empty trips for the Ducks.
- Toke grabbed the final Ithaca miss with eight seconds remaining and found Guketlov, who fired a desperation three.
- Brown grabbed the missed shot and missed the putback attempt, but the ball was nabbed by Toke and the junior adeptly converted a layup, drawing contact from Yacovoni to set up the final play.
- Toke intentionally missed the free throw attempt off the front end of the rim. Brown slid from her position in front of the Ithaca defenders to grab the carom and found Sanchez, who had positioned herself on the right wing as Toke was taking her free throw.
- The Staten Island native received the tapped rebound from Brown and fired a 25-foot, uncontested three-point shot that struck the iron and secured the Ithaca victory.
Inside the Numbers
- The championship was the sixth for Ithaca and a reversal in outcome from the 2016 championship, won by the Ducks.
- The comeback attempt would have been the largest of the season.
- An aggressive Stevens team shot 47% from the field in the second half, producing nine more shot attempts than their first-half output.
- The Ducks shot 77% from the free throw line in the second half and controlled the boards 25-20.
- Toke's 10 second-half defensive rebounds nearly matched Ithaca's team defensive rebound total (13).
- Stevens tallied 11 assists on 17 baskets in the second half.
Unsung Hero
Flynn's Thoughts
- "Tonight's comeback was keyed by our competitive spirit that we have never lost since the season began."
- "I think that getting the ball inside to Toke and Brown really changed the momentum for us, allowing us to get back into the game."
- "The final play of the game was a set miss at the free throw line and a kickout to the shooter, which everyone did what they were supposed to do. Unfortunately the shot did not fall in our favor."
Up Next
- Stevens now awaits their 2017 postseason fate.
Facebook: "Like" Stevens Athletics
Twitter: @stevensducks
Instagram: @stevensducks
Snapchat: ducks_athletics
