Rochester, N.Y. – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team used a 34-28 second half advantage to earn a hard-fought 67-64 road win over the University of Rochester on Sunday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Stevens (6-2) did not trail and led for more than eight minutes in the opening quarter. Olivia Schubiger opened the scoring with a jumper 30 second in, the only points for either side in the opening 2:40. Isabella Duval answered two Rochester baskets with a layup, then a three-pointer, Schubiger tacking on a layup for a 9-4 Stevens edge at the 5:48 mark. Baskets from Schubiger, Maya Abramson, plus a Leyla Castro three-pointer put Stevens up 17-10 with 3:39 left, though the Yellowjackets scored the next seven, tying the game less than 90 seconds later; Castro and Schubiger sandwiched baskets around one from the Yellowjackets, leaving Stevens up 21-19 heading to the second quarter.

The second quarter began with a Rochester four-point play, but Stevens quickly responded to its first deficit of the day as Duval knocked down a three and Emily Marinilli put in a pull-up jumper for a 26-23 Ducks' lead. Rochester tied things at 26, then 28, but a Fiona O'Boyle layup and Castro three kept the Ducks in front each time. Schubiger reached double figures with a jumper at the 2:40 mark, but the Ducks did not score the rest of the half as the Yellowjackets jumped in front 36-33 at the half courtesy of a pair of last minute three-pointers. The quick moving first half featured just eight fouls and three free throw attempts combined.

Baskets from Dorothy Loffredo and Castro (a three-pointer), two Abramson free throws, and an O'Boyle jumper kept the Ducks close, though Rochester maintained its slim halftime lead through the opening 4+ minutes of the second half. Schubiger had three jumpers in a span of four Stevens possessions, twice tying the game, then putting the Ducks on top 48-46. Rochester came back with a three, but a Loffredo layup and Marinilli three-pointer put the Ducks up four. Each side knocked down one free throw in the final 15 seconds of the period, with Stevens holding a 54-50 edge heading to the fourth.

Three-pointers from Castro and Duval put the Ducks up 10, 60-50, 90 seconds into the final period, but Rochester worked the deficit back to two, 62-60 at the 3:45 mark, shortly after both teams went scoreless for more than two-and-a-half minutes. Schubiger hit another jumper and Rochester added a free throw, leaving the score 64-61 with 2:46 left. The teams missed their next seven shots combined, with a Schubiger free throw finally breaking another 2+ minute scoring drought with 27 seconds left. Abramson hit 1-of-2 from the line and Rochester followed with a three-pointer, closing to 66-64 with seven seconds left. After Loffredo went 1-for-2 from the charity stripe, Rochester missed a last second three for the tie.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Schubiger dished out a season-high five assists and finished with a game-high 19 points – one off her season-high
• Castro set season-highs with 16 points and five steals, adding seven rebounds
• For the third time this season, both Castro and Duval knocked down three 3-pointers each – the Ducks have won all three of those games
• O'Boyle grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, her most since the season opener against Kean

UP NEXT
The Ducks make the short trip across the Hudson on Tuesday for a 6:00 PM tip against Brooklyn College in their penultimate game before the calendar turns to 2026.

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