HOBOKEN, N.J. (January 13, 2012) – Seniors Jillian Barrett (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Dawn Garcia (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led the way for the Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team as they led nearly wire-to-wire in a win over Empire 8 rival Utica College (5-8, 0-3). Barrett pulled off a double-double (17 points, 14 rebounds) and Garcia had 16 points of her own as the Ducks rolled to the victory. The Stevens defense held the Pioneers to just 27.9 percent shooting for the game.

For contrast, Stevens shot 54 percent from the floor in the second half and 47 percent overall.
Barrett boasted a shooting percentage of 61 for the night, including a three-point bucket. She also picked up a game-high five steals for the Ducks. Garcia led the game in three pointers as she connected on two of three shots from downtown.

Avis Benjamin (Queens, N.Y.) continued her string of solid contributions for Stevens, racking up doubles figures (10) on the scoreboard and pulling down five rebounds.

Victoria Webber (Silver Spring, Md.), Molly Herforth (Pompton Plains, N.J.), Kate Cox (Aston, Pa.) and Molly Spadaro (Sewell, N.J.) also scored for the Ducks.

Stevens was never truly threatened in the game – Utica did not come within three points after the 8:41 mark of the first half and never got the lead to single digits after the 14 minute mark in the second.

The Ducks held Utica scoreless for a six-minute stretch early in the second half to pull away and go on a 10-0 run. That gave the hosts a chance to rest their starters in preparation for tomorrow's game two of the Empire 8's trademark 24-hour conference weekends.

The Ducks will host Ithaca College on Saturday afternoon in a rematch of last year's Empire 8 Championship game won by Stevens. Tipoff tomorrow is set for 2 p.m. in Canavan Arena.

Remember to "like" us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/StevensAthletics. Follow us on twitter @stevensducks or www.twitter.com/StevensDucks.