Third-Seeded Utica Edges Stevens in Empire 8 Semifinal
THACA, N.Y. (2/26/10) – The Utica College women’s basketball team advanced to its second Empire 8 Conference Championship game in three years after a 64-59 victory over second seeded Stevens Institute of Technology Friday night. Junior forward Jessica Berry, who was recently named Empire 8 Conference Player of the Year, scored a game-high 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds to guide UC.
The Pioneers, making their sixth straight appearance in the Empire 8 Conference Championships, improved to 20-6 overall on the year and will take on host and top-seeded Ithaca College Saturday in the Conference Tournament Championship at 3 p.m. The winner of tomorrow’s championship game will earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Stevens, the No. 2 seed, jumped out to an eleven point lead, 18-7, in the first 12:30 of the contest after a 6-0 run in a span of 2:43. After a short burst by the Pioneers, which included two straight buckets, the Ducks went on a 6-0 run to take a 24-11 lead with 5:11 to go in the first half of play.
Utica would not disappoint and responded with a 9-0 run of its own to cut the Stevens lead to 24-20 after two Berry free throws with 1:48 to go in the first half.
The Ducks closed out the first half on a 4-2 run and earned a 28-22 advantage headed into the locker room at halftime.
Stevens snagged nine offensive rebounds in the first half and garnered a 24-18 rebounding advantage in the first 20 minutes of play. Berry netted a team-high 14 first half points to lead the way for the Pioneers.
The Ducks came out of the gates strong in the second half and took a nine point lead, 35-26, just under three minutes in. UC used a 6-0 run in a span of 59 seconds to cut the Stevens lead to three points, 39-36, with 14:24 to go in the contest.
UC used another 6-0 run to tie the contest for the first time at 42-42 after all-conference honorable mention point guard Katie McGee connected on a 12 foot jumper with 11:51 to go in regulation. Shortly after, the Pioneers would take their first lead of the contest after Berry connected on a three point play to give UC a 46-44 advantage with 10:28 to go.
UC was able to extend its lead to as many as six points, 52-46, but the Ducks answered right back with an 8-0 run of their own to take the lead right back with 5:52 to go in regulation.
Blows were exchanged for the next three minutes with the Pioneers coming out on top and after senior forward Jessica Snyder knocked down a 3-pointer, followed by a Berry jumper as the Pioneers’ found themselves with a 60-56 lead with 2:52 left.
The Pioneers would hang on to its lead in the final three minutes and after a missed three-pointer by Brittany Fuller with less than five seconds to go, and two free-throws by McGee, the Pioneers were able to hang on for the five point victory.
Freshman forward Meghan Fiore netted 12 points off the bench for Utica, while junior guard Devon Croll, an all-conference first-team selection for the first time this season, scored ten points. As a team, the Pioneers went 25-of-30 from the charity stripe and had just two turnovers in the second half.
Stevens, who will await a bid to the ECAC Tournament, dropped to 16-10 overall after the loss. The Ducks had four players score in double figures including Sarah Gehring (14), Victoria O’Connor (12), Paige Armstrong (11) and Dawn Garcia (10).