Junior guard Dawn Garcia (Brooklyn, N.Y.) had 11 points, six assists, and three steals in the win, while fellow junior Jillian Barrett (Philadelphia, Pa.) pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds, adding eight points. Seniors Victoria Webber (Silver Spring, Md.) and Victoria O'Connor (Westwood, N.J.) each finished with eight points and seven rebounds, while freshman Lisa Tessitore (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.) and junior Isaura Guzman (Union City, N.J.) combined for 17 points on 6-for-11 shooting.
Junior Shaleah Alston (East Orange, N.J.) poured in a game-high 16 points to pace the Devils' attack, while freshmen Brianna Nicholls (Marlboro, N.J.) and Melissa DeHaas (Washington, N.J.) had seven points apiece. Junior forward Matil Mangual (Westbury, N.Y.) added six points in the loss.
Stevens raced out to an early six-point edge to start the game, taking an 8-2 lead after a pair of O'Connor free-throws at 16:22. Minutes later, DeHaas converted on a three-point play to trim the deficit to three, but a 9-0 Ducks rally – that included a pair of Barrett and Guzman buckets and a Garcia three – quickly upped the Stevens lead to 12 with just over 10 minutes to go in the half.
Up 23-12, Benjamin connected on a pair of free-throws following a DeHaas foul just under the six minute mark to extend the lead to 13 before a quick 6-0 FDU-Florham run – capped off by a Shealyn Taggart (Atlantic Highlands, N.J.) jumper – sliced the Ducks' lead to seven.
Stevens responded by mounting a 9-0 run of its own to close off the half, going up 10 on a Jen Thompson (Linwood, N.J.) triple before a Garcia basket with 39 seconds left gave the Ducks a 16-point cushion heading into the break.
The Devils opened the second frame with five unanswered points, trimming the lead to 11 on an Alston trey, but back-to-back Barrett and Armstrong layups pushed the lead back up to 15. Another Alston bucket from behind the arc pulled FDU-Florham within 12 at 14:52, but again the Ducks answered, this time reeling off an 8-0 run capped by a Benjamin layup, to go up 48-28 at the 12:04 mark.
Holding onto a 18-point edge after an Alston three, Stevens mounted a 9-2 spurt – kick-started by a Benjamin jumoer and capped off by a Tessitore layup – to extend the margin to 25 with just 7:46 remaining in regulation.
An Alston three-point play just shy of the six-minute mark brought the Devils within 22 but that was as close as FDU-Florham would get with the Ducks closing out strong – going up 30 on a Tessitore free-throw – before wrapping up a 79-51 victory.
Washington College defeated Alvernia University 73-58 in the day's other match-up, behind a game-high 17 points from Sally O'Donnell (Cape May, N.J.). Freshmen Erin Fitzgerald (Greensboro, N.C.) and Latisha Pledger (Chesapeake, Va.) each tallied 11 points in the loss, with Pledger adding a team-high 13 rebounds.
Junior center Angela Altemose (Pottsville, Pa.) and freshman guard Brittany Young (Columbus, N.J.) each notched a team-best 15 points, with Altemose also pulling down 10 boards. Junior forward Allie Toczylowski (Mantua, N.J.) notched seven points and four rebounds in the loss.