Stevens Institute of Technology and Utica College to Meet in Empire 8 Women's Basketball Championship
February 29, 2008
Top-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology and third-seeded Utica College posted semifinal wins and will meet in the title game of the Empire 8 Women's Basketball Championship. The Ducks defeated fourth-seeded St. John Fisher College 84-65 and the Pioneers stopped second-seeed and defending champion Ithaca College 75-64 in overtime.
No. 1 Stevens 84, No. 4 St. John Fisher 65
From Stevens Institute of Technology Release
HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 29, 2008) – Junior guard Dani Dudek recorded her fifth triple-double of the season in leading top-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology to an 84-65 win over fourth-seeded St. John Fisher College in the first semifinal game of the 2008 Empire 8 Women’s Basketball Championship on Friday evening at the Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. Dudek finished with 12 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds as the Ducks (21-5) advanced to Saturday’s 4 p.m. championship game where they will face the winner of second-seeded Ithaca College and third-seeded Utica College. The conference champion will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Trailing 11-10 five minutes into the game, Stevens scored six unanswered points as sophomore guard Sarah Gehrin and freshman forward Victoria Webberdrained back-to-back three-pointers. Those buckets staked the Ducks to a 16-11 lead with 12:53 remaining in the period.
Leading by four points midway through the half, Stevens out-scored St. John Fisher 15-7 over a five-minute stretch to build a 12-point cushion (34-22). The Cardinals (13-13) answered with a 9-0 run in the span of 45 seconds. Senior forward Allison Boehm started things off with a four-point play. Freshman guard Colleen Maloney followed with a steal and breakaway lay-up. Boehm added a three-pointer from the left baseline as St. John Fisher clawed to within 34-31 with 4:24 to go.
Sophomore forward Brittany Fuller halted the Cardinals’ run with a three-pointer from the left wing to put the Ducks in front by six points (37-31). Stevens carried a 42-37 lead into the locker room.
In the first half, the Ducks shot 51.6 percent (16-for-31) from the floor and made seven three-pointers. Webber shouldered the load offensively as she scored 15 points off the bench – thanks in large part to four made three-pointers. Boehm paced St. John Fisher with 22 first-half points.
Stevens started the second half on a 6-0 run to build a 48-37 lead with 18:15 remaining. Senior forward Dora Enrigh began the spurt with a jumper. Freshman forward/center Paige Armstrong followed with back-to-back baskets.
The Cardinals would not go away though as they cut the deficit to seven points (58-51) on a lay-up by sophomore guard/forward Christine Isselhard with just over 12 minutes to play. The Ducks responded by ripping off a 9-2 run to push the margin back up to 14 points (67-53) with 9:31 remaining.
Leading 69-61 with a little over four minutes to go, Stevens put the game away with a 7-0 run over the course of 55 seconds. After a lay-up by freshman center Victoria O’Connor, Gehring drained a three-pointer. Enright added two free throws as the Ducks’ lead grew to 76-61 late in the contest.
Enright led Stevens with 21 points on 9-for-17 shooting from the field. She also had eight rebounds and five assists. Webber finished with 15 points. O’Connor added 10 points and seven rebounds in the victory.
Boehm paced the Cardinals with 33 points. She was 9-for-14 from the floor, 4-for-8 from downtown, and 11-for-16 at the foul line. No other player scored in double-figures for St. John Fisher. Junior guard Meagan Tubbs and sophomore center Mary Kate Comfort totaled nine points apiece.
For the game, Stevens shot 49.2 percent (32-for-65) from the field. The Cardinals connected on 38.2 percent (21-for-55) of their shots from the floor. St. John Fisher made just 33.3 percent (9-for-27) of its attempts in the second half. The Ducks dominated the glass as they out-rebounded the Cardinals 48-25.
No. 3 Utica 75, No. 2 Ithaca 64 (OT)
From Utica College Release
With the win, UC improved to 16-10 overall this season and they will take on top-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology tomorrow at 4 p.m. Live video for the contest will be available at www.empire8.tv.
Freshman forward Jessica Berry scored 26 points on 11-of-17 shooting from the floor, while junior guard Mallory Davis netted 21 points. Berry and Davis combined for 11 points in overtime to pace the Pioneers to victory.
The Pioneers led for a little over five minutes to begin the game, but then lost the lead and they did not regain the lead until the 3:21 mark of the overtime period.
Ithaca led 31-21 at the half, but a 17-9 run by the Pioneers over the first 7:17 to open the second half cut the Bombers lead to just two points.
The Bombers led 58-55 with :45 seconds to go in the contest when Berry made a lay-up and was fouled. She knocked down the ensuing free throw to tie the game up and send it to overtime.
Lindsey Brown led all Ithaca scorers with 18 points on 6-of-15 shooting off the bench, while Katherine Bixby added 13 points of her own.