HOBOKEN, N.J. (January 15, 2011) – Freshman Avis Benjamin (Queens, N.Y.) netted 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting as the Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team upended Empire 8 rival Alfred University 61-39 at Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. Winners of nine-straight, the Ducks move to 12-1 on the season with an unblemished 5-0 league ledger, while the Saxons fell to 6-8 overall on the year and 2-4 in conference play.
Junior guard Dawn Garcia (Brooklyn, N.Y.) opened up scoring by draining a three on the Ducks' first possession, before Victoria Webber (Silver Spring, Md.) made it 5-0 with a jumper at 18:14. Junior forward Jillian Barrett (Philadelphia, Pa.) then converted a three-point play to put Stevens up eight before a Christina Jordan (Cornwall on the Hudson, N.Y.) put Alfred on the board with her first basket of the day.
Stevens responded by rattling off nine-straight points, beginning with a Molly Spadaro (Sewell, N.J.) layup and capped off by a Benjamin basket. Four-consecutive Saxon points on a Lyndsay Murphy (Almond, N.Y.) jumper and a pair of Lauren Sanford (Hornell, N.Y.) free-throws cut it to 17-10 with 12:16 left in the half, but the Ducks mounted an 11-2 run over the next nine minutes to stake Stevens to a 19-point edge.
Senior guard Brianne Lavin (Farmingdale, N.J.) got the run started with a jumper in the lane before a Paige Armstrong (Fair Haven, N.J.) layup at 9:41 put the Ducks up 21-7. Alfred freshman Sarah Federico (Buffalo, N.Y.) then hit a layup to cut into the lead, but Ducks' senior Victoria O'Connor (Westwood, N.J.) connected on her first basket of the evening before five-consecutive Webber points put Stevens up 28-9 with 3:22 left in the half.
Hoping to keep pace, the Saxons pared the lead down to 14 with 1:39 remaining on a Federico bucket and a Kacey Kwiecien (Perry, N.Y.) triple, but four-straight Stevens points to close out the half gave the Ducks a 32-14 margin heading into the locker room.
Alfred netted the first four points of the second frame on a Grace Williamson (Olean, N.Y.) jumper and a Murphy layup, cutting the Stevens lead down to 14. Looking to up the Ducks' margin, Spadaro knifed into the lane for two before a Webber three and an Armstrong jumper quickly staked Stevens to a 39-18 lead with 15:47 left in regulation.
Lavin then converted a pair from the charity stripe before a Barrett free-throw at the 14:00 minute mark gave Stevens a 24-point cushion. The Saxons would notch five-unanswered points over the next couple minutes of action, slicing the lead deficit to 19 on a Murphy trey, but Lavin and Garcia tallied back-to-back jumpers to put the Ducks back up 23 with just over 10 to play.
Webber finished with 10 points in the win, while Spadaro, Barrett, and Garcia each added seven. O'Connor chipped in with six points and a game-high eight rebounds in the win. Murphy led all scorers with 13 points and four rebounds, while Jordan had eight points in the loss.
The Ducks, ranked second in the nation in scoring defense and rebounding margin, held Alfred to just 39 points on 27.1 (13-for-48) percent shooting, while outrebounding the Saxons, 41-27.
Stevens returns to action on January 21-22 against Ithaca College and Elmira College, respectively.