Stevens, Fisher, Ithaca, Utica record wins

2/21/2015 11:02:30 AM

Stevens 60, Nazareth 40
The Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team used a 10-0 first half run to build a lead it wouldn't relinquish Friday night in a 60-40 Empire 8 Conference win over Nazareth College.
 
The win moved Stevens to 21-3 (13-2) while Nazareth dropped to 14-10 (9-6).
 
Junior Kaitlyn Astel and Miranda Ripken paced the Ducks with 12 points each to go along with four rebounds. Freshmen Anna Toke recorded a career-high 14 rebounds and four steals while junior Dylan Krause added six points, three rebounds and three assists.
 
The Ducks held Nazareth to just 28.3 percent shooting from the field and forced 18 turnovers.
 
Sophomore Erica Guketlov hit a jumper with seven minutes remaining to tie the game at 19 before a pair of free throws from Krause thirty seconds later put Stevens up two. The Ducks continued the run with four more free throws before a jumper from Toke ballooned the lead to eight with just under four minutes to go.
 
Sophomore Brittany Washington hit two more free throws to extend the lead to10 before Nazareth finally ended the run with a free throw at the two minute mark. The Golden Flyers added two more off a jumper, but four points from Astel in the final 40 seconds gave the Ducks a 12 point lead going into the break.
 
Nazareth closed the gap to eight within the first two minutes of the second half before Stevens answered with a 16-0 run capped by a three from junior Megan Petuskey. The Golden Flyers bounced-back with a 10-2 run over the next six minutes, but jumpers on back-to-back possessions from freshman Sydney Darby and Ripken put Stevens back up 22 with three minutes to go.
 
The Ducks defense took control from there, allowing just two points over the final three minutes to clinch the win.

St. John Fisher 74, Hartwick 57
The St. John Fisher College women's basketball program used a 14-2 run late in the game to pull past host Hartwick College for a 74-57 win on Friday night in an Empire 8 Conference matchup.
 
With the win, Fisher, ranked No. 6 in the NCAA Division III East Region, improves to 19-5 overall and 12-3 in the Empire 8.
 
 The 19 wins marks the most victories in a season in head coach Marianne O'Connor Ermi's seven-year career and the most victories since the 2005-2006 campaign.  That year, Fisher won the Empire 8 Conference Championship and posted a 25-3 overall record.
 
Hartwick jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the opening four minutes of the games, as the Cardinals made just one of their first 10 shots, but answered with a 17-0 run over the next five minutes to take the 19-8 lead.

The Hawks, however, hung in there, and responded with a 14-3 spurt, knotting the game at 22s with just over seven minutes left in the half.
 
Fisher, who led 38-34 at the half, opened the second period with a 10-1 run over the first six minutes and took its then biggest lead at 55-41 on a layup from Lunden Cunningham with just over 10 minutes left in the game.
 
Hartwick answered with an 11-0 run, cutting Fisher's lead down to three points at 55-52 with 6:58 left, but couldn't get any closer.
 
Fisher went on a 14-2 run over the next five minutes – sparked by back-to-back 3-pointers from Portia Velasco – and didn't allow a Hartwick field goal for the remainder of the game.
 
Senior Sydney Bloomstein scored a season-high 21 points (two shy of her career high).  Velasco finished with 17 points and five rebounds, while Mary Kate Cusack added 17 points and five steals. 
 
Cunningham tallied nine points and five boards off the bench, while freshman Nicole Robinson led her team with seven rebounds.  McKenzie Bezon totaled a team-best five assists.

Ithaca 66, Elmira 43
The Ithaca College women's basketball team finished out their regular season with a 66-43 Empire 8 Conference road win at Elmira on Friday night. Ithaca will carry a 21-4 overall record into next week's Empire 8 tournament and the Bombers posted a 15-1 mark in conference games.

The Bombers jumped out to a 14-2 advantage over Elmira through nine minutes of action. During the run, five different players for Ithaca scored, highlighted by five from freshman Julie Yacovoni. The Soaring Eagles crept back to within nine points, 16-7, with 6:21 to go, but Ithaca quickly responded with five points to build a 21-7 edge with 3:38 left on the clock.

Ithaca closed out the half with a 27-11 cushion, and was led by eight points from sophomore Alex Gilligan. On Gilligan's first basket, she surpassed 100 points on the season to become the ninth Bomber to do so this year – a new program record.

The 11 points surrendered in the opening 20 minutes are the fewest allowed by Ithaca in a half this season. Elmira went just 3-for-23 (13.4-percent) in the opening stanza, while Ithaca shot 11-for-30 (36.7-percent).

As the second half got underway, Ithaca pushed its advantage to 42-16 with a 15-5 run in 4:39 of game time, and maintained at least a 23-point margin until the final two minutes of regulation.

Senior Francesca Cotrupe eight of her game-high 12 points in the second half on 5-for-7 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds (eight offensive) on the night for her third double-double of the season.

Gilligan finished with 10 points and four steals, while Yacovoni matched a career-high with nine points to go along with four rebounds and two steals.

Seniors Samantha Klie and Geena Brady, and sophomore Shayna Gaskins all chipped in six points. Klie added two blocks; Brady snatched three rebounds with two steals and Gaskins pulled down eight boards.

Junior Keri Steele and sophomore Ali Ricchiuti both contributed five points and three assists. Steele also recorded six rebounds, while Ricchiuti corralled five.

Freshmen Allison Spaschak and Erin Woop rounded out with the scoring with four and three points, respectively.

Utica 76, Alfred 43
The Utica College women's basketball team cruised to a 76-43 victory over Alfred University Friday evening at the Harold T. Clark Athletic Center.     
 
Utica jumped out to a quick start and held a 31-13 lead at halftime.  Junior Mary Miceli (New Rochelle, NY/New Rochelle) led the Pioneers with 21 points, while Greenwald scored eight points and added a team-high 11 rebounds.  Stayer, Kahane, and Surprenant combined for 17 points and 14 boards.  The Utica bench outscored Alfred's reserves 30-2 on the day. 
 
Ashelyne Babb (Lynn, MA/Winthrop) led Utica freshmen with seven points and a team-best three assists, while Ashley Mayo (Nanuet, NY/Nanuet) tallied six points. Amanda Henderson (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph by the Sea), Emily Pinckney (Canton, NY/Hugh C. Williams), Monica Makuch (Brownville, NY/General Brown), Christy Traglia (Mohawk, NY/Mohawk), and Alaina Tripp (Clyde, NY/Clyde-Savannah) also contributed points on the day. 
 
The Pioneers wrap up their season with an 11-14 overall record and a 7-9 mark in the Empire 8 Conference.  Utica will bid farewell to four seniors, including Bridget Greenwald (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills), Samantha Stayer (Allegany, NY/Allegany-Limestone), Marissa Kahane (Sayville, NY/Sayville), and Adriana Surprenant (Utica, NY/New York Mills).  The senior class racked up 40 wins over the last four years, including 21 E8 victories.