UNION, N.J. (November 8, 2023) - Sophomore Dorothy Loffredo scored a career high 17 points and added three rebounds as the Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team defeated Kean 74-61 Wednesday evening.

The Ducks (1-0) won their season opener against Kean for the second straight season as Stevens took down the Cougars 76-60 in the opener last season. Stevens has won three straight matches against Kean (0-1) to even the series at three games a piece.

Stevens opened the game on a 7-0 run as sophomore Leyla Castro scored four points while junior Lucy Alberici drilled a three. Stevens was able to maintain an advantage throughout the first quarter until Kean made a free throw with 24 seconds left to tie the game at 15. Loffredo made a jumper to close out the quarter and give the Ducks a 17-15 advantage after one. In the second quarter and up 19-18 early, the Ducks made three-straight jumpers courtesy of Alberici, first-year Kay Decker, and first-year Paige Gorczyca to take a 27-18 lead. From there it was all Cougars for the rest of the half as Kean went on a 20-6 run to close the quarter to take a 38-33 lead into the break.

Head coach Meg Haughey's halftime talk must have been well received as Stevens went on a 10-0 run out of the half to take a five point lead of their own. Senior Elissa Nsenkyire scored four points on the run. Stevens was able to take a 13 point lead with under a minute to go in the quarter after Loffredo made a jumper and then tacked on a free throw on the next possession. Stevens led 56-46 after three. In the fourth, Stevens took their largest lead of the game (15 points) with 7:36 left in the game as sophomore Audrey Kehoe made a three. Kean was able to go on a run and cut the deficit to single digits momentarily, but Stevens quickly regained their double-digit advantage and held onto it for the rest of the game. Down the stretch, Alberici, Castro, and Loffredo each contributed four points as the Ducks earned their first win of the season.

Top Performers

• Loffredo dropped a career high 17 points.
• Castro played 35 minutes and scored 15 points. She was tied for the team lead in assists (3) and steals (3)
• In her first game as a Duck, Decker secured a team high 13 rebounds.
• Nsenkyrie scored 12 points and added three assists.
• Ten Ducks saw game action.
• Stevens shot 43.4 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from three.

The Opponent

• Brittany Graff and Maya Edwards each had a team high 14 points.
• Shad Baheer had a double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 15 rebounds.
• The Cougars had 10 rebounds.
• Kean shot 30 percent from the field and 26.9 percent from three. They also went 12-23 from the free throw line (52.2%)

Around the MAC Freedom

• FDU-Florham 69, Saint Elizabeth 71
• King's 56, Gwynedd Mercy 61
• Lebanon Valley 49, Neumann 69

Up Next: The Ducks are back in action on Friday as they head to Oregon to take on Pacific University. The game is set for 8 p.m. EST and 5 p.m. local time. Links for live stats and video are posted to stevensducks.com