ROCHESTER, N.Y. (January 7, 2011) – Senior Paige Armstrong (Fair Haven, N.J.) and juniors Jillian Barrett (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Victoria Webber (Silver Spring, Md.) combined for 39 points and 24 rebounds as the visiting Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team earned a 70-51 victory over Empire 8 rival Rochester Institute of Technology at Clark Gym in Rochester, N.Y. With the win, the Ducks moved to 9-1 on the season with a 2-0 league ledger, while the Tigers fell to 3-8 on the year, evening their conference slate at 1-1.

Freshman Kayla Wheeler (Clifton Park, N.Y.) opened up scoring with a pair of free-throws at 18:53, but Stevens' Webber gave the Ducks the lead on the ensuing possession, burying a three from the left corner.

Barrett then netted five of the game's next seven points, giving the Ducks an 8-4 advantage on a three from the top of the key. After a Courtney Tennant (Cortland, N.Y.) jumper made it a two-point game, Isuara Guzman (Union City, N.J.) notched her first bucket of the evening before junior Dawn Garcia (Brooklyn, N.Y.) stole an errant Tigers' outlet pass, taking it all the way to the rim for two.

Webber, Armstrong, and Guzman would keep things going, netting six of the next eight as the Ducks grabbed an 18-8 cushion. The Tigers responded with an 8-4 run of its own, trimming the margin back down to four on a Tennant layup at the 7:18 mark.

The Ducks immediately answered however, with Barrett hitting back-to-back buckets to make it 26-18. Armstrong then netted eight-straight points, tracking down her own missed jumper before knifing into the lane for two to give Stevens a 15-point edge. Garcia then hit from behind the arc before another Armstrong bucket capped off a decisive 17-1 Ducks rally.

RIT junior Anne Wapshare (Blasdell, N.Y.) momentarily quelled the Stevens' hot-streak with a three at 1:20, but Barrett laid the ball in on the Ducks' last possession, netting her 11th point of the frame, while giving Stevens a 41-22 margin heading into the locker room.

Sophomore guard Leslie Havens (Wayland, N.Y.) darted into the lane for a layup to open up second half scoring, but Webber answered with a nice move down low, putting the Ducks back up 19. Wheeler came right back with a triple from the right corner, but Garcia coolly connected on a trey from the left wing to help Stevens keep pace.

Wheeler later made it 46-29 hitting a pair from the charity stripe, but four-straight Victoria O'Connor (Westwood, N.J.) points by a Webber tip-in and three gave Stevens a commanding 26-point lead. Havens later reeled off six-unanswered, on a bucket from distance and a three-point play, cutting the Ducks lead to 17, but that was as close as RIT would get as Stevens wrapped up a 70-51 victory.

Webber led the Ducks with 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting, adding nine rebounds, while Barrett finished with a double-double, tallying 11 points and 10 boards. Armstrong finished with 12 points, five rebounds, and four assists, going 6-for-10 from the field, while Garcia added eight points, five rebounds, and four assists in the win. Guzman and O'Connor combined for 13 points and eight rebounds in the Ducks' ninth victory of the season.

Havens led all scorers with 17 points, adding four assists, while Wheeler finished with 13 points and four blocks. Wapshare had seven points in the loss, while Tennant had eight points and six rebounds.

The Ducks held a decisive 53-34 rebounding edge, grabbing 23 offensive rebounds, while the Ducks' defense held the Tigers to a paltry 31.6 (18-for-57) shooting percentage and 26.3 (5-for-19) clip from behind the arc.

Stevens returns to action on Saturday, January 8 against Nazareth College.