Junior guard Dawn Garcia (Brooklyn, N.Y.), who joined Webber on the All-Tournament team, added 13 points and six rebounds in the win, while senior Paige Armstrong (Fair Haven, N.J.) had nine points and a game-high 11 boards. Juniors Jillian Barrett (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Isaura Guzman (Union City, N.J.) had four points apiece, while senior Victoria O'Connor (Westwood, N.J.) grabbed eight rebounds.
Freshman guard Kelly Mitchell (Laurel, Md.) had 15 points on 4-for-9 shooting, while junior Sally O'Donnell (Cape May, N.J.), who was named to the all-tournament team, had 14 points and five rebounds. Freshman Latisha Pledger (Chesapeake, Va.) had 11 points and seven rebounds in the loss, while junior guard Meghan Tait (Oxford, Pa.) and freshman Erin Fitzgerald (Greensboro, N.C.) combined for eight points, 11 boards, and seven assists.
An O'Connor layup on the Ducks' first possession opened up scoring before back-to-back Webber and Garcia triples gave Stevens an early 8-0 advantage. Mitchell responded with her first three of the afternoon before a Fitzgerald layup and another Mitchell triple knotted the game at eight with just over 15 minutes remaining in the in the first half.
Two-straight Webber jumpers helped the Ducks regain the lead but a Pledger layup coupled with a Claire Mattox (Arlington, Va.) jumper once again tied the game with 11:41 left on the clock. The Ducks responded by mounting an 8-2 run over the next four minutes of action, taking a six-point lead on a Guzman jumper.
Still down six at 24-18 after a Garcia layup, Tait connected on a jumper before a pair of Mitchell free-throws pulled Washington within two. An Armstrong layup coupled with an O'Connor free-throw made it a five-point game with just over a minute left in the first, but Mitchell notched the frames final four points – hitting another trey in the process – to make it a one-point Ducks' edge heading into the break.
O'Donnell gave the Shorewomen their first lead of the game just seconds into the second half but a Webber three on the ensuing Stevens possession put Stevens back on top. Fitzgerald would help Washington regain the lead with a pair of free-throws just under the 18-minute mark before an Armstrong three-point play gave Stevens a 37-35 edge.
The Shorewomen responded by reeling off five-straight points, taking a three point lead on a Liz Warkala (New York, N.Y.) layup. Back-to-back Molly Spadaro (Sewell, N.J.) and Garcia jumpers put Stevens back ahead by one at 10:58 before an O'Donnell free-throw knotted the game for the eighth time at 43.
Garcia momentarily staked the Ducks to a three-point advantage by finding the range from long distance, but O'Donnell answered with a trey of her own on the other end to once again tie it up. Hoping to put Washington away, the Ducks mounted an 8-1 run, going up seven with just under five to play on a Webber free-throw.
Undeterred, O'Donnell kick-started a 7-0 Shorewomen rally, nailing a three before a Pledger jumper coupled with a Kristen Hansen (South River, N.J.) layup tied the game at 54 with 1:43 left. Following a Stevens' timeout, Webber received a pass from Armstrong on the right wing before dialing it up from behind the arc, draining the Ducks' go-ahead three.
The Stevens defense would then come up big on the other end, getting a much needed stop as Garcia went 3-for-4 from the charity stripe down the stretch to seal the Ducks' third-consecutive victory.
Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham its Tip-Off Tournament consolation match-up with Alvernia University, 82-70, behind a Shaleah Alston's (East Orange, N.J.) game-high 19 points. The East Orange, N.J. native, who earned all-Tournament honors for her efforts, was 7-for 12 from the field, with six rebounds and six assists. Junior center Meghan Lentine (Hazlet, N.J.) added 15 points on 7-for-11 shooting, while freshman guard Brianna Nicholls (Marlboro, N.J.) added 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Freshman Brittany Young (Columbus, N.J.), an all-tournament selection, led the Crusaders with 16 points and four rebounds, while junior forward Allie Toczylowski (Mantua, N.J.) finished with 12 points and 16 rebounds in the loss. Junior center Angela Altemose (Pottsville, Pa.) added nine points and five boards.
2010 Stevens Tip-Off All-Tournament Team
Victoria Webber (Stevens) *
Dawn Garcia (Stevens)
Sally O'Donnell (Washington)
Shaleah Alston (FDU-Florham)
Brittany Young (Alvernia)
* Tournament MVP