PITTSFORD, N.Y. (February 11, 2012) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team completed an Empire 8 weekend sweep with a 58-52 victory over Nazareth College on Saturday afternoon. Senior Victoria Webber (Silver Spring, Md.) led the Ducks in scoring for the second-straight game, pouring in 21 points, including an 8-of-8 performance from the free-throw line. Fellow seniors Jillian Barrett (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Dawn Garcia (Brooklyn, N.Y.) tallied a dozen points apiece for Stevens as well.
With the win, the Ducks move to 8-5 in the Empire 8 Conference and 11-12 overall. The Golden Flyers sink to 4-9, though they also maintain an 11-12 overall record.
For the second consecutive game, the Ducks raced out to a big advantage early on, scoring the first 11 points of the game and holding Nazareth scoreless over the first five minutes of the game. Garcia got things going with a three-pointer on the first possession of the contest, and Webber added points six through 11 as the Ducks looked like they might be in for a laugher.
Indeed, the Golden Flyers never got within three in the first half, and were held to just 27 percent shooting from the field. The Ducks forced the hosts to hoist a good deal of shots from the outside, as Naz launched 12 from behind the arc in the first half alone. But 10 Duck turnovers and below-average shooting kept Naz in the game, and Stevens led at the break 25-20.
As the second half began, the Golden Flyers went on a 7-0 run, sparked by Brittany TallChief (Silver Creek, N.Y.). Naz took the lead at 29-28 with 16:32 remaining in the game.
The Ducks responded to that challenge as well as a team possible can: starting from that moment, the team went on an outstanding 16-0 run. Molly Spadaro (Sewell, N.J.) hit a jumper on the next possession to take the lead back, and Webber, Garcia, Barrett and Avis Benjamin (Queens, N.Y.) all contributed to the scoring over those five minutes. During the run, the Golden Flyers did not even attempt a field goal, as the dogged Ducks defense forced six-straight turnovers and the offense converted each of its possessions into points. Webber and Garcia each had a pair of steals during that stretch.
From there, the Golden Flyers never seriously threatened again. Nazareth committed 19 fouls during the game, while Stevens was whistled for just eight. Stevens forced Naz to keep the ball outside while they won the battle of the boards 44-34 and had 20 points in the paint.
Spadaro finished with eight rebounds from the guard position…the Ducks made their free throws, going 20-for-26…Naz was held to just 32 percent shooting from the field, and they attempted 23 shots from downtown.
The Ducks return for what will be their final home game of the 2011-12 season on Tuesday night when they will host No. 8 William Patterson University at 7p.m. There will be a wristbands giveaway on Tuesday in addition to the game's "Think Pink" theme.
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