Box Score 

ITHACA, N.Y. (January 24, 2014) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team dropped a 82-65 Empire 8 Conference contest at Ithaca College on Friday evening. Stevens is now 10-6 overall and 3-4 in the Empire 8, while Ithaca improves to 13-4, 6-1 on the season.

The Ducks outscored Ithaca, 42-37, in the second half but trailed by 22 points (45-23) at intermission which proved to be too much to overcome in Ben Light Gymnasium.

Stevens jumped out to a 9-0 lead over the first 2:49 of the game, aided by six points from senior Avis Benjamin (Queens, N.Y.), who netted a team-high 16 on the evening. Ithaca fought back to tie the ballgame up at 10-10 exactly two minutes later, but the Ducks received back-to-back buckets from sophomore Kaitlyn Astel (Staten Island, N.Y.)to go back up, 14-10, with 12:54 left in the half.

From there, the Bombers went on a 35-9 run to close out the opening 20 minutes of play.

In the second half, Stevens trimmed Ithaca's cushion down to nine points, 57-48, with 8:50 left in regulation, but could never get any closer than that for the remainder of the contest.

Along with the 16 points from Benjamin on 6-for-7 shooting, sophomore Miranda Ripken (Fallston, Md.) also notched 16 points and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line with four assists. Benjamin struggled to stay on the court, as she fouled out in 16 minutes of action.

Sophomore Dylan Krause (Atlanta, Ga.) scored 15 points on 10 attempts and blocked four shots. Astel finished the game with eight points, while senior Molly Spadaro(Sewell, N.J.) dished out a team-best six assists.

Stevens (22-for-54) shot a better percentage from the field than did Ithaca (22-for-56), but the Bombers made 19 more free throws on 21 more attempts. Ithaca also pulled down 10 more rebounds and forced 18 turnovers.

Ithaca was led by 24 points from Jenn Escobido, and 15 apiece from Kathryn Campbell and Geena Brady. The trio combined to grab 25 rebounds as well.

The Ducks head to Utica College tomorrow for a 4 p.m. Empire 8 contest. Stevens defeated Utica, 62-52, in the previous matchup this season on January 3.

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