Click here for game stats

ROCHESTER, NY – Visiting Stevens (9-1, 2-1 Empire 8) used a 17-1 run over a 5:58 span late in the first half to break open a close game and hand the RIT women's basketball team (3-8, 1-1 Empire 8) its first loss in conference play, 70-51 at Clark Gym on Friday night.

RIT went on an 8-2 run, punctuated with a lay-up by #Courtney Tennant (Cortland, NY/Cortland)# with 7:18 left in the opening half that cut the Stevens lead to 22-18. The Ducks responded with the big run to take a 41-22 lead into halftime and never looked back.

Poor rebounding plagued the Tigers all game long. The Ducks out-rebounded RIT 30-14 in the first half, with 15 offensive boards. Overall, Stevens held a 53-34 edge on the glass, with 23 offensive caroms.

RIT's #Leslie Havens (Wayland, NY/Wayland-Cohocton)# scored a game-high 17 points to go along with four assists, two steals, and one block. #Kayla Wheeler (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) added 13 points to go along with a season-best four blocks. (Neptune, NJ/Neptune)Courtney Tennant (Cortland, NY/Cortland) and Anne Wapshare (Blasdell, NY/Immaculata Academy) scored eight and seven points apiece. (Neptune, NJ/Neptune)Mallory Apperson (Bemus Point, NY/Maple Grove)# pulled down a team-best seven boards.

Victoria Webber scored 16 points and added nine boards to lead Stevens. Jillian Barrett recorded a double-double, with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Paige Armstrong chipped in with 12 points, five boards, four assists, and four steals.

Armstrong and Barrett led the Ducks with 12 and 11 points, respectively in the first half. RIT shot just 29.6 percent from the field over the opening 20 minutes of play.

Overall, Stevens shot just under 40 percent from the field, while RIT shot 31.6 percent (18-for-57).

Stevens leads the all-time series between the two schools, 6-1. The two teams also meet on Feb. 12 at Stevens.

The Tigers return to action on Saturday, as they host Hartwick in an Empire 8 contest that gets underway at 2 p.m.