Hoboken, NJ -- Alex Balara '15 and Danielle Cleary '18 of the Elmira College women's basketball team (6-8, 3-4 E8) each turned in double-digit point performances this afternoon as the Soaring Eagles fell on the road to Empire 8 Conference opponent, Stevens Institute of Technology (12-2, 6-1 E8), 58-41.
 
Balara and Cleary each finished with 10 points, while Balara also grabbed seven rebounds and forced four steals.  Of Balara's 10 points, eight came from the free throw line.
 
The Soaring Eagles struggled to find their touch from the floor this afternoon, shooting 26 percent from the field and 14.3 percent from distance.  Also working against Elmira was the effort on the glass today as Stevens outrebounded EC 47-to-32, the second largest margin of the season for the Purple and Gold.
 
The early goings of today's contest was competitive as the first half saw three lead changes, two ties, and the largest lead through the first five minutes was four points, an advantage held by the Ducks.  However, with Stevens ahead by four points, the Ducks would close out the final 4:43 of the first half on an 11-2 run to take a 32-19 lead into the halftime break.
 
Elmira was held without a field goal during the final eight minutes of the first half, fueling the Ducks' 11-2 run.  During the run, the Soaring Eagles went 0-for-8 from the field in the final five minutes and EC's only two points during that time came on free throws as Elmira went 2-for-4 from the charity stripe.
 
In the second half, EC did a better job on the glass, outrebounding Stevens 19-to-17.  Unfortunately for Elmira, their efforts on the boards did not translate into points as they were only able to get within 11 points of the Ducks as Stevens marched away with a 58-41 victory. 
 
Elmira will look to get back into the win column in their next game, scheduled for Tuesday, January 20th when the Soaring Eagles make the short trip to the Flower City to face the Golden Flyers of Nazareth College.  Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m.