HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 12, 2011) – Three Ducks finished in double-figures, led by junior guard Dawn Garcia's (Brooklyn, N.Y.) team-high 14 points, as the Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team swept its season series with Empire 8 rival Rochester Institute of Technology, downing the Tigers, 65-52, during Stevens' National Girls and Women in Sports Day "Play, Believe, Achieve" festivities at Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J.
With the win the Ducks improved to 17-5 overall on the season with a 10-3 mark against conference opponents, while RIT fell to 5-17 on the year with a 3-10 league ledger.
Stevens raced out to an early advantage, outscoring their Tiger counterparts 19-4 over the first 10 minutes of action. Junior forward Jillian Barrett (Philadelphia, Pa.) opened up scoring with a pair of free-throws before five-straight Garcia points on a jumper and three-pointer put Stevens ahead 7-0 with just under 18 minutes left in the half.
RIT sophomore guard Leslie Havens (Wayland, N.Y.) would put the Tigers on the board with a basket at 16:54 before 10 unanswered points capped off by five-consecutive Isaura Guzman (Union City, N.J.) scores gave Stevens a double-digit edge. Junior Anne Wapshare (Hasdell, N.Y.) momentarily stemmed the Ducks' tide with a bucket to cut it to 17-4, but consecutive Guzman and Avis Benjamin (Queens, N.Y.) buckets upped the Stevens lead to 19.
The Tigers would pare the lead back down to 16 at 6:51 following a pair of Jess Kramer (Fayetteville, N.Y.) free-throws, but the Ducks would outscore RIT 6-3 for the remainder of the half, taking a 19-point cushion into the locker room.
Hoping to build on their first-half momentum, Stevens mounted a 15-7 run to begin the second, taking a 44-17 lead with 14:19 to go. Wapshare opened the frame with a quick triple, but a Victoria O'Connor (Westwood, N.J.) layup, coupled with back-to-back Garcia and Webber baskets staked the Ducks to a 22-point edge.
Freshman center Courtney Tennant (Cortland, N.Y.) and Kramer responded by hitting a pair from down low, trimming the margin to 18, but four-straight O'Connor points, a Garcia jumper and a Molly Spadaro (Sewell, N.J.) trey, quickly pushed Stevens' lead to 27.
RIT would battle back to within 16 over the next five minutes of action, rattling off a 19-8 run that sliced the lead to 52-36 on a Havens three, but another O'Connor layup followed by a Brianne Lavin (Farmingdale, N.J.) triple put the Ducks back up 21 with 8:05 to go.
Down the stretch, the Tigers frantically tried to keep pace, pulling to within 11 on a Kramer free-throw with just 38 seconds on the clock, but by then the Ducks had all but sealed their 17th victory of the season.
Stevens, which shot 48 percent (26-for-54), held RIT to just 17-for-55 from the floor including a 3-for-23 clip in the first half. A stifling Ducks' defense, that held the Tigers to just 10 points during the first frame, also forced 17 turnovers, while holding a decisive 45-27 rebounding edge.
The Ducks return to action on Tuesday, February 15, against Hartwick College.