HOBOKEN, N.J. (January 14, 2014) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team dropped a 65-64 Empire 8 Conference matchup to Hartwick College on Tuesday evening in Canavan Arena. Hartwick earned the victory on its final possession of the contest to remain undefeated in the Empire 8.

With Stevens (8-5, 2-3) leading by one point, 64-63, with just under four seconds left in regulation, Hartwick's (11-3, 5-0) Brittney Dumas drained a 10-foot shot in the paint off an inbounds pass to secure the win for the Hawks. Sophomore Miranda Ripken (Fallston, Md.) nearly stole the game back for the Ducks on a three-quarter court heave that clanked off the side of the rim as time expired.

The Ducks took a 62-61 lead on a pair of made free throws by sophomore Kaitlyn Astel (Staten Island, N.Y.) with 1:09 left on the clock after trailing for the entire second half. Hartwick came right back down the floor and regained advantage on a miraculous shot from Lee Arduini with 42 seconds to go. Astel then put in a baseline jumper to put Stevens back in front, 64-63, with 30 ticks left to set up the final possession for Hartwick.

Astel scored all of her team-high 15 points in the second half on 6-of-10 shooting to go along with three rebounds and two steals in 16 minutes off the bench.

Stevens fell behind early in the game, 7-0, in the first three minutes of the game and was forced to burn an early timeout. After the break, Hartwick kept applying pressure and went up by 10 points, 14-4, with 14 minutes left in the half which made the Ducks use their second timeout of the game. Freshman Erica Guketlov (Spotswood, N.J.) then caught fire from three-point range and drained four from long range to help Stevens claw back into the game and gave Stevens a 26-25 edge with 2:27 remaining in the half. Hartwick responded with five unanswered points to close out the opening 20 minutes and went into intermission with a 30-26 edge.

Guketlov finished the evening with 14 point, but netted 12 points in the first half – all on three-pointers – to keep Stevens within striking distance. She went 4-for-5 from behind the arc in the half but did not attempt a three in the second stanza.

Senior Molly Spadaro (Sewell, N.J.) scored 10 points (3-for-5 from the field, 2-for-3 from deep) with six assists in the loss. Freshman Brittany Washington (Iselin, N.J.) grabbed a team-high 10 boards (seven offensive) in 13 minutes off the bench.

Senior Lisa Tessitore (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.) added eight points and four rebounds and shot 50-percent on the night (4-for-8). Classmate Avis Benjamin (Queens, N.Y.) dealt with foul trouble the entire game but finished with six points, five boards and two blocks. Freshman Daphne Ginn (Lawrenceville, N.J.) chipped in five points on two shot attempts.

Stevens shot 34.5-percent from the floor (10-for-29) in the first half and went 6-for-10 from long range. In the second half, the Ducks recorded a 57.1 shooting percentage (16-for-28) but only attempted one three pointer. Hartwick was 21-for-58 overall (36.2%) and 9-for-21 (42.9%) from three.

A difference in the game was the disparity at the free throw line, as Hartwick attempted 20 shots and made 14, while Stevens made just five on eight tries.

The Hawks were paced by 24 points from Maria Foglia and a double-double from Dumas (12 points, 12 rebounds). Arduini also eclipsed double-digit points with 15.

Stevens is back at home this weekend against Houghton College at 8 p.m. on Friday night and then entertain Alfred University at 5 p.m. on Saturday.

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