HOBOKEN, N.J. (January 18, 2023)  – Graduate student Jess Broad hit a long jumper in the final minute to send No. 17 Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball over No. 6 DeSales University 49-48 Wednesday night in a MAC Freedom matchup at Canavan Arena. 

The winning offensive play actually began with a strong defensive effort by sophomore Lucy Alberici, who deftly moved her feet and forced a wild miss by DeSales' Megan Bealer on a driving layup. Broad grabbed the rebound and threw down court to junior Elissa Nsenkyire. The pass was a little long for the fleet-footed Nsenkyire, who made a game-altering play, by redirecting the ball off a DeSales player to keep possession with the Ducks.

After DeSales took a timeout, the Ducks successfully inbounded the ball, where first-year Leyla Castro began the winning play at the top of the key. Castro moved around a screen and then drove to the middle of the paint and her way towards the left block, where she found Broad, who was wide open just inside the 3-point line. The multi-time all-conference selection calmly elevated and sank the corner jumper much to the delight of her teammates and the Canavan faithful. Broad, who finished with a game-high 17 points, also pulled down 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season.

After taking the lead, the Ducks successfully thwarted three DeSales game-winning attempts, with graduate student Amber Porrett corralling a key defensive rebound in the waning moments. The Bulldogs had a chance to ultimately win the game on their final possession, but Lindsey Welsh's long two was well short of its target.

Castro finished with 14 points, while Porrett pulled down a career-high 19 rebounds for the Ducks, who won for the sixth straight time to improve to 15-2 on the year and to a perfect 8-0 in conference play. Porrett's 19 boards were the most by a Duck since alumna Jillian Barrett matched a program-record with 22 boards against St. John Fisher on Feb. 25, 2011.

The Ducks' victory not only snapped DeSales' 15-game winning streak this season, but it also snapped the Bulldogs' stretch of 49 straight victories over MAC Freedom opponents (including the postseason). The Ducks have won at least one game over a nationally-ranked opponent in each of the last two seasons and tonight's victory marked the highest-ranked opponent defeated by the program since toppling then-No. 6 William Paterson 69-68 on Feb. 14, 2012.

Abigail Rafferty had 14 points and 18 rebounds and Amelia Saunders added 12 points for DeSales, who dropped to 15-1 on the year and to 7-1 in the MAC Freedom. DeSales' last setback to a MAC Freedom opponent came pre-pandemic on Jan. 11, 2020 with a 55-54 loss at King's. 

In an expected matchup of strong defenses, the teams seemed to buck the trend early, combining for 35 points in the first quarter. Porrett caused the first turnover of the game on the game's first possession, stripping Welsh, which led to a Castro floater in the paint for the first bucket of the contest. The Ducks would score the first six points of the game before DeSales finally got on the board courtesy of a Beamer layup. DeSales answered with an 8-0 run to take its first lead of the game and the teams combined for three lead changes and four ties in the opening stanza to set the stage for how the game would be contested. A Castro three pulled the Ducks within one, but Rafferty answered with a layup to put the visitors back in front by three heading into the second quarter. 

After the teams combined for 13 field goals in the first quarter, things certainly tightened up over the remainder of the game. The Ducks held DeSales to no more than five field goals in each of the final three quarters and forced the Bulldogs into shooting nearly 15% percent below their season average. The Ducks' 13 points in the final quarter were the most by either side across the final three stanzas.

Lost in the defensive battle, the Ducks hit two buzzer-beating baskets. First, it was Castro beating the second-quarter buzzer with a running 3-pointer and then Alberici made one from the corner, steps behind where Broad ultimately would win the game, that closed the third quarter.

Inside the Numbers

• Stevens finished the game shooting 30.3% from the field, while holding DeSales to 27.7%
• DeSales won the battle of the boards 51-45, which included a 16-13 edge on the offensive glass. The edge in offensive rebounding helped the Bulldogs gain a 14-12 margin in second-chance points.
• Stevens turned 19 DeSales turnovers into 18 points and limited DeSales' ability to do the same as the Bulldogs could only turn the Ducks' 17 miscues into eight points.
• The Ducks earned a 9-8 edge on fast-break points and received 15 points off the bench.
• Castro finished with a game-high four assists, while also matching a career-high with four steals.
• Porrett and senior Danielle Cornetta each blocked two shots. 
• First-year Dorothy Loffredo had seven points and five boards in just 13 minutes. She made three of her four attempts from the floor.
• Rafferty led all players with four blocks. 

From the Court - Head Coach Megan Haughey

• "40 minutes of grit, fight and belief in one another. I am super proud of our entire group for staying dialed in, picking each other up and finishing this game off."

Up Next

• Women's Basketball travels to Dallas, Pennsylvania on Jan. 21 for a MAC Freedom tilt at Misericordia.
• The Ducks defeated the Cougars 67-60 in Canavan Arena on Dec. 3 and have won two of the last three meetings between the teams.
• Links for live stats and video are posted to StevensDucks.com.

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