Box Score

HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 30, 2013) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team outlasted William Paterson University, 77-72, on Saturday in Hoboken. With the victory, Stevens improves to 5-1 on the season, while William Paterson falls to 2-4.

The Ducks jumped out to a 9-0 lead over the first 2:07 of the contest, but William Paterson turned up its defense and forced six Stevens turnovers in the next 3:10 to pull within one point at 11-10. Stevens committed 19 turnovers in the first half and went into the break down by just one point at 37-36.

Senior Molly Spadaro (Sewell, N.J.) netted five of her 11 points on the afternoon in the opening 9-0 run, while classmate Avis Benjamin (Queens, N.Y.) tallied the other four points en route to a double-double performance with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Benjamin went 7-for-12 from the field, while Spadaro shot 5-for-11 to go along with five boards.

William Paterson captured its first advantage in the game after Maya Harris made a layup to put the Pioneers ahead by two points, 13-11, with 11:59 left in the first half. After Benjamin knotted the score on the next possession, the Pioneers regained the lead on a pair of free throws their next trip down the floor.

Over the final 11:18 of the half, there were five ties and four lead changes with William Paterson holding the largest lead of five points on two separate occasions, 32-27 and 37-32.

Of the 36 points Stevens scored in the first half, Benjamin tallied 10, Spardaro recorded seven, sophomore Miranda Ripken (Fallston, Md.) chipped in seven and freshmanHannah Brophy (Bridgewater, N.J.) also poured in seven points (nine in the game).

As the second half got underway, Benjamin scored the first basket of the half to put Stevens back in front, 38-37, and Spadaro finished off a fast break just a few seconds later to give the Ducks a three point edge, 40-37, with 17:44 remaining.

A three-point play from Kristine Jackiewicz dead locked the contest at 40-40 with 17:38 left which would jumpstart a 16-9 run for the Pioneers over a 7:30 span. William Paterson remained in control of the game up until the 14th tie in the affair with 5:15 on the clock at 64-64.

After the 64-64 tie, Stevens capitalized at the free throw line and made 11 of its 14 attempts, while the Pioneers could only score eight points.

Ripken swished seven freebies in eight tries to account for her game-high 22 points. She went 10-for-12 at the line overall and was 6-of-11 from the floor.

Stevens shot 26-for-66 from the field (39.4 percent) and was 21-for-31 from the line. William Paterson went 26-for-80 overall (32.5 percent) and struggled from long range, going just 7-for-36 (19.4 percent). The Pioneers also had a rough afternoon at the charity stripe, shooting just 50 percent (13-for-26).

Both teams pulled down 55 rebounds. William Paterson pulled down 28 on the offensive end, while Stevens grabbed 20.

The Ducks will be back in action on December 2 at Kean University for a 6 p.m. tip-off.


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