Box Score

HOBOKEN, N.J. (January 4, 2014) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team dropped a 78-69 decision to nationally ranked No. 18 Ithaca College in an Empire 8 Conference matchup in Hoboken on Saturday evening. Stevens is now 6-3 on the season and 1-1 in the Empire 8, while Ithaca improves to 7-3 and 1-1.

The conference foes battled back-and-forth throughout the entire first half and the largest lead of the half was six points by Stevens until Ithaca closed out the opening 20 minutes with a 38-33 edge. Ithaca netted the first basket of the contest 34 seconds in but the Ducks drained a three-pointer on the ensuing possession from freshman Erica Guketlov (Spotswood, N.J.) to take their first lead of the game.

After a pair of three's from Ithaca's Kathryn Campbell gave the Bombers an 8-7 advantage, Stevens went back up, 9-8, with 17:13 to go. The Ducks controlled play for the next four minutes and built up an 18-12 edge with 13:13 remaining on a jumper from Guketlov. Ithaca then went on an 8-2 run to knot the score at 20-20 midway through and remained in the lead until another deadlock at 23-23 at the 7:06 mark.

The teams traded baskets over the next 1:20 until Stevens put in back-to-back buckets to regain the lead at 31-27 with 3:49 left in the half. From there, Ithaca closed out the half on an 11-2 run and went into the locker room up by five.

In the second half, Ithaca never trailed and led by as many as 17 points with 9:25 left in regulation. The Ducks did, however, closed to within one point on two different occasions in the first 2:07, but surrendered seven consecutive points in just over a minute to fall behind, 47-39.

The Bombers then rolled out 16 of the next 23 total points to account for their 17-point edge and held onto the lead from there on out.

Stevens was paced by senior Avis Benjamin (Queens, N.Y.), who scored a team-high 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting with eight rebounds. Guketlov tallied 16 points with four baskets from long range, while sophomore Miranda Ripken (Fallston, Md.) chipped in 15 to go along with six boards.

Ithaca shot 49.2-percent (31-for-63), while Stevens went 27-for-65 from the field (41.5%). The Ducks outrebounded the Bombers by two, 42 to 40, but committed two more turnovers (11 to nine). Neither team performed well at the free throw line, as Stevens shot 10-for-19 and Ithaca went 10-for-22.

The Ducks play again on January 8 at 6 p.m. against Cairn University in Langhorne Manor, Pa.

Facebook: "Like" Stevens Athletics
Twitter: @stevensducks
Instagram: @stevensducks