HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 12, 2008) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women’s basketball team will play host this coming weekend as the Ducks kickoff the 2008 campaign when they hold a four-team tournament in Hoboken, N.J. from Saturday to Sunday. Stevens, who finished with its best record in program history a year ago (24-6), will begin play against the College of Staten Island at 3 p.m. The College of New Jersey and Middlebury College will square off just before the Ducks at 1 p.m.
Preview
CSI
The Dolphins finished the 2007-08 season with an overall record of 21-8. CSI went 12-1 in the City University of New York Athletic Conference and fell in the final round of the league championship against Lehman College, 78-66. The Dolphins earned the seventh seed heading into last year’s Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Metro Division Tournament. They upended second-seeded Rutgers-Newark in a hard-fought battle that concluded in a 57-47 decision. In the semifinal round, CSI fell to the third-seeded Ducks 72-63.
Middlebury
The Panthers went 13-12 in 2007-08 and lost to Tufts University in the quarterfinals of the New England Small College Athletic Conference Championship to finish with a 4-5 league mark. Middlebury will be headed by senior guards Ashley Barron (Brockton, Mass.) and Emily Johnson (Lower Gwynedd, Pa.). Barron led the squad in 2007-08 in three-point field goals made (55). She totaled 93 rebounds and dished out 63 assists. Barron finished second on the team in steals (39) and points (249). Johnson led the team in total points with 256. She knocked down 39 buckets from behind the arc and pulled down 97 rebounds. Johnson had a team-high 52 steals as she shot .304 (75-for-247) from the floor.
TCNJ
The Loins posted a 22-7 record last year and reached the finals of the New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament where it lost to Kean University. TCNJ earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, beat Bridgewater State College (Va.) in the first round, and lost to the University of Mary Washington in the second round. The Lions return senior center Hillary Klimowicz (Scotch Plains, N.J.). The D3hoops.com Preseason First-Team All-American selection led the team in points (490) a year ago as she posted a .644 field-goal percentage (206-for-320). She pulled down an impressive 320 total rebounds (123 offensive, 197 defensive) and added 29 assists.
Stevens
The Ducks are coming off its most successful season in the history of the program. Stevens fell just short of receiving the automatic qualifier for the opening round of the NCAA’s as the Ducks were defeated by Utica College 46-55 in the finals of the Empire 8 Championship. Stevens earned the third seed for the 2008 ECAC Metro Division Championship and went on to record the program’s first-ever ECAC title when it took down Montclair State University 57-50. The Ducks will turn to three-year starter and team captain, senior guard Dani Dudek, to help lead the team in 2008-09. The 2007-08 Empire 8 Player of the Year earned first-team league honors as she set the Stevens record for the most assists dished in a season (222 assists, 30 games).
Live stats will be provided for each contest. There will be a live webcast for Stevens' games only.
