Stevens, Ithaca, Nazareth, Fisher record victories

2/13/2015 10:42:16 PM

Stevens 49, Elmira 36
The Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team improved to 19-2 overall and 12-1 in the Empire 8 with a 49-36 win at Elmira College Friday night.

The Ducks have now won eight-straight games and have allowed a grant total of just 63 points in their last two games.
 
Stevens came out firing, jumping out to a seven-point lead (7-0) 2:16 into the game following a three-pointer from junior guard Kaitlyn Astel. The Duck lead moved to 10 (13-3) when sophomore guard Daphne Ginn found sophomore forward Brittany Washington underneath for two.
 
Midway through the first, a pair at the line from junior guard Miranda Ripken resulted in a 20-7 margin for the Ducks, but the Soaring Eagles were able to claw back, getting within six at 24-18 at the break on the back of an 11-4 run.
 
The hosts were able to make it a four-point game on their first possession of the second half, but five-straight points from sophomore guard Erica Guketlov quickly upped the advantage to nine with 17:49 on the clock.
 
Elmira came back to get within five at 14:51, but that would be as close as the Soaring Eagles would get as the Ducks embarked on a 15-1 run to open a 44-25 lead with 6:53 to go. Ripken started the run with a bucket at 13:29, an Astel jumper at 11:18 pushed the advantage back into double digits and a Ginn three-point play capped it for the Ducks.
 
Elmira did get within 13 points at 2:37 but it was too little too late as the Ducks were able to pick up their 10th road win of the season.
 
Astel led Stevens with 11 points, with Washington tallying nine points (on five shots), four rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Freshman forward Megan Brown was strong all-around with seven points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals, with Guketlov ending the contest with seven points, two assists and two steals. Ripken was also solid for Stevens, scoring eight points along with two assists, two rebounds and two thefts.
 
Stevens shot 32.8 percent from the field, 2-for-11 from deep and 7-for-12 at the line, finishing the contest with a 37-32 margin on the glass. The Ducks never trailed in the game and scored 26 of their 49 points in the paint.
 
Stevens and Ithaca are currently tied atop the conference standings with identical 11-1 records and will meet Saturday in Ithaca in a game that should go a long way in determining postseason seeding for the upcoming Empire 8 Tournament. St. John Fisher College and Nazareth College are currently in third and fourth place with both teams coming to Hoboken next weekend.

Nazareth 70, Utica 51
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Junior Veronica Peck scored a career-high 21 points and senior Melissa Reeves pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds for host Nazareth Friday as the Golden Flyers defeated Utica in Empire 8 women's basketball action, 70-51.
 
Nazareth avenged an earlier defeat to the Pioneers and clinched a berth in the four-team Empire 8 Conference Tournament Feb. 27-28. The Golden Flyers improved to 14-7 overall and 9-3 in conference play. Utica slipped to 9-14 overall and 5-9 in the E8. Nazareth has won four in a row and six of seven.

Peck's 21 points included five three-pointers. Junior Lindsey Kelly added 15 points and 11 rebounds and junior Sam Sorge had 14 points.

Nazareth trailed for a brief time early in the game before seizing control and eventually led 30-18 at the half despite committing 14 turnovers in the first 20 minutes. Peck connected on three three-point baskets in the first half, including one in the closing seconds to extend Nazareth's lead to double digits. Junior Colby McCartney also came off the bench in the first half to score eight points.

Peck hit two more three-pointers in the opening minute of the second half and Sam Sorge also hit one as Nazareth extended its lead to 17 points at 39-22. The Golden Flyers' second-half lead never left double digits as they remained comfortably ahead. Kelly made two free throws with :58 left to extend the lead to 69-51. Then Kelly Broderick added a free throw with :44 left to leave the final margin at 19 points.

Nazareth made 22 of 45 shots from the field (48.9 percent), including 8-for-20 from three-point range. The Golden Flyers also canned 18 of 22 free throws (81.8 percent) with Peck and Sorge each going 4-for-4. Nazareth also enjoyed a decisive 42-27 rebounding advantage.

Utica's shooting was off the mark most of the way. The Pioneers went 5 for 21 (23.8 percent) in the first half and 16 for 55 (29.1 percent) overall. Bridget Greenwald was Utica's high scorer with 15 points. Mary Miceli and Samantha Slayer each scored 12.

St. John Fisher 58, Houghton 42
The St. John Fisher College women's basketball program qualified for the Empire 8 Conference Championship on Friday night, as the Cardinals collected a 58-42 win over visiting Houghton College.

With the win, Fisher improves to 16-5 overall and 9-3 in the Empire 8 Conference.  The victory guarantees Fisher one of the top four spots in the Empire 8 standings and will secure the Cardinals a postseason bid.  It is the 37^th time in the program's 41-year history Fisher has made the postseason.

The winner of the four-team tournament (held on February 27-28) will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship.  The Cardinals are currently tied for third place in the Empire 8 standings and trail Ithaca College and Stevens Institute of Technology, who are both 12-1 on the year in league play.

Fisher opened the game with a 12-0 run over the game's opening six minutes to take control.   Fisher pushed its lead to 18 points at 26-8 on a 3-pointer from Portia Velasco with just under eight minutes left in the first half, but the Highlander went on a 9-4 run to close out the period to pull within 13 at 30-17 at the break.

Houghton hung around for most of the second half, cutting Fisher's lead down to nine points on two different occasions.  Fisher led 45-36 with just over four minutes left, but the Cardinals pulled away after knocking down 3-pointers on its next three possessions from three different players (McKenzie Bezon, Mary Kate Cusack and Emily Piacentini) to start a 13-2 run and put Fisher up by 20.

Cusack led the Cardinals with 17 points.  Velasco finished with nine points and five rebounds, while freshman Lunden Cunningham added eight points and six boards.   Fellow freshman Nicole Robinson added six points and six rebounds, while Piacentini totaled five points and a team-high five assists.

Fisher will return to action at 2 p.m. on Saturday and will host Nazareth College.  Prior to the start of the game, the College will recognize its four graduating seniors.

Fisher is 7-1 in its last eight games with its lone loss coming to the Golden Flyers on January 30^th.

Ithaca 60, Hartwick 50
ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College women's basketball team defeated Hartwick Friday evening, dropping the Hawks by a score of 60-50 at Ben Light Gymnasium. The win improves Ithaca's overall record to 18-4, including a mark of 12-1 in the Empire 8. Hartwick falls to 6-16 overall and 4-9 in the conference.

The Bombers hit 20-of-49 shots on the night, giving them a shooting percentage of 40.8 from the floor. Ithaca was 8-of-24 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc, and 12-of-17 (70.6 percent) from the charity stripe. Ithaca's bench played a major role in the victory, outscoring Hartwick's reserves, 30-15.

Sophomore Ali Ricchiuti paced Ithaca with 11 points. She also tied for first on the roster with six rebounds. Senior Samantha Klie scored seven points and led the Bombers with four assists. Sophomore Alex Gilligan led all reserves with nine points and two steals.

The Bombers opened the game with five-straight points, starting with a layup from Klie. Ithaca took the first double-digit lead of the contest with 12:16 to go in the half, as Gilligan nailed a three pointer to put the Bombers up, 16-6.

The Hawks pulled back to within seven points of the Bombers with 8:26 remaining, but another Gilligan shot from beyond the arc just a minute later regained Ithaca's double-digit lead at 23-13. Although Hartwick was able to chip away at the Ithaca advantage again, a pair of free throws from Ricchiuti with less than 30 seconds remaining sent the Bombers to halftime ahead, 28-19.

Hartwick scored the first six points of the second half, pulling them back to within three points of the Bombers. Ithaca responded with its best offensive stretch of the game, as the Bombers went on an 18-6 run over the next eight minutes. A layup from sophomore Shayna Gaskins capped the run with 10 minutes left in the half, giving the Bombers a 15-point lead at 46-31.

The Ithaca defense held strong for the remainder of the contest, securing the 60-50 conference victory for the Bombers.

Ithaca, the No. 3 team in the NCAA East Region, will honor its seniors in the final home game of the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 14 as the Bombers play host to the No. 4 team in the region, the Stevens Ducks. The contest marks one of the final games for seniors Geena Brady, Samantha Klie, Ally Mnich and Francesca Cotrupe. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Ben Light Gymnasium.