Daytona Beach, Fla. – In their first game in 21 days, the Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team turned a double-digit fourth quarter deficit into a one-point game late before dropping a 74-65 non-conference contest to UMass-Boston Saturday afternoon in the Florida Sunshine Shootout.
Stevens' record now stands at 3-5 for the year, while UMass-Boston improved to 3-7.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Lucy Alberici had the Ducks' first five points courtesy of a jumper and three-pointer, with a
Dorothy Loffredo layup putting the Red and Gray in front for the first time, 7-5.
Kay Decker extended the lead to four with a jumper then, after the Beacons trimmed the deficit to one, a
Leyla Castro three pushed the lead right back to four, 12-8.
Two free throws from Alberici, a
Zoe Kashner jumper, and two free throws from Decker provided the scoring for Stevens over the final four minutes of the quarter as the Beacons turned that four-point deficit into a 20-18 lead at the end of the opening 10 minutes.
Katherine Bogutsky opened the second quarter with a jumper after a Decker offensive rebound and Kashner put Stevens on top with a jumper of her own, the only points for either side in the first 2:30 of the period. After UMass-Boston reeled off six straight, Alberici pulled the Ducks back within two on a layup, but the Beacons quickly pushed the lead out to six, the largest of the game for either team.
An Alberici layup and a jumper, then three-pointer from Castro cut the margin back to a single point before a last-minute UMass-Boston jumper put the Beacons up 34-31 at the half. Alberici did not miss a shot in the opening 20 minutes, going 4-for-4 from the floor and 2-for-2 from the foul line.
Olivia Schubiger answered an early Beacons' layup in the third quarter, but UMass-Boston pushed the lead back to five on its next possession and did not let the Ducks draw closer the rest of the quarter. Loffredo had six, and the quartet of Bogutsky, Schubiger, Castro and Alberici all had two over the final eight minutes, but the Beacons pushed their lead out to 11, 58-47 heading to the fourth.
Stevens opened the fourth quarter on fire, holding the Beacons scoreless over the first four minutes and scoring on five of its first six possessions, cutting the deficit down to a single point.
Loffredo started the run with a jumper and Schubiger kept it going, converting a jumper of her own after a Kashner steal. After a UMass-Boston timeout, Alberici cut the margin to five with a layup and Schubiger cut it to three with another jumper. Castro capped the 10-0 run with a jumper, forcing a second Beacons' timeout in less than three minutes.
Castro later answered three UMass-Boston free throws with a three-pointer, keeping the margin at one, but the comeback attempt ended there, as the Beacons reeled off the next eight points, then held at least a two-possession cushion the rest of the way.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Alberici finished with a game-high 20 points, her best single-game performance since dropping a career-high 29 against Lebanon Valley last January 3.
- Castro finished with 15 points and seven assists, surpassing her totals in each from the previous two games combined.
Stevens finished 14-for-16 from the foul line, an 87.5 percent clip, the team's single-best rate from the charity stripe since making 16-of-18 (88.9 percent) against DeSales on February 7.
- Castro also registered a game-high five steals, her best single-game mark in her last six outings, and one more than her total over the previous four games combined.
- The Ducks committed just 11 turnovers, their second-lowest total of the season.
UP NEXT
The Ducks' Florida Sunshine Shootout slate concludes tomorrow at 4:00 against Fitchburg State. The team returns to Canavan Arena Friday, January 3, at 3:00 against St. Joseph's – Brooklyn.
