With the transition of warmer weather to colder brings about a new sporting season. The Stevens Women’s Basketball team has had an impressive start to their season, starting it off with three consecutive wins against Kean University, Pacific University, and George Fox University.
On November 8, 2023, the team traveled to Union, NJ to play in their season opener against Kean University, where they defeated Kean 74-61. This game marks the second consecutive season where the Ducks have defeated Kean for their season opener game. Additionally, it allowed for many impressive performances to stand out. Throughout the game, sophomore Dorothy Loffredo totalled a career-high 17 points as well as adding three rebounds. Sophomore Leyla Castro added 15 points on top of three assists and three steals, while senior Elissa Nsenkyire scored 12 points and added another three assists. Furthermore, first-year Kay Decker added a team-high 13 rebounds to mark her first game as a Duck. On top of these, the team shot 43.4% from the field and 36.4% from three, as opposed to Kean’s shooting of 30.0% from the field and 26.9% from three-point line.
On November 10, the Ducks traveled to Oregon to play against Pacific University, where they won with a score of 73-66, bringing the team’s record to 2-0. Again, this game highlighted many players’ strengths. Nsenkyire scored a team-high 19 points and made four assists, in addition to shooting a career-high four baskets from four shots from the three-point line. Additionally, Decker scored a career-high 16 points and added 11 rebounds, marking her first career double-double. Junior Lucy Alberici added 12 points and six rebounds, while sophomore Audrey Kehoe made a career-high two blocks. The team shot 37.9% from the field, 47.4% from the three-point line, and an impressive 82.4% from the free throw line, whereas Pacific University shot 29.2% from the field, 21.9% from the three-point line, and 73.9% from the free throw line. This disparity in shooting percentages helped the Ducks secure the win.
On November 12, the Ducks faced George Fox University in Oregon and won with a score 57-52, marking the second time Stevens has won against George Fox, and improving the Ducks’ record to 3-0. With such a close game, many players were able to show off impressive performances. Loffredo scored 16 points and tallied 18 rebounds, marking her first career double-double. Alberici added 15 more points and four steals, while Castro scored 14 points and had two blocks. Nsenkyire also recorded five steals. As a team, the Ducks shot 30.0% from the field, 40.0% from the three-point line, and 68.0% from the free throw line, as opposed to George Fox shooting 29.3% from the field, 31.0% from the three-point line, and 90.0% from the free throw line.
Following a strong start to the season, the Ducks will return to play The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) on November 15.
