With a dominant shooting performance across the board, the Stony Brook women’s basketball team snapped a three-game losing streak to get back to .500.
The Seawolves (5-5) topped the St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers 75-59 at Island Federal Arena on Saturday afternoon. The dynamic guard duo of Annie Warren and Gigi Gonzalez headlined the box score, leading their team to a big victory.
The pair of star guards scored the team’s first 12 points, as Warren buried three straight three-pointers before Gonzalez hit one of her own. The Terriers proved to be no match for the Seawolves early, as a layup from forward Ny Toang gave them a 16-5 lead through the first eight minutes.
Not only did the offense play well, but the defense was ferocious, too. The unit held St. Francis Brooklyn to just nine points in the first quarter.
“That is our philosophy, we defend first, we rebound, and it really does control the game,” head coach Ashley Langford said in a postgame press conference. “It is not an issue of capability, just a matter of when it will come together on both sides.”
Stony Brook’s hot start continued throughout the second quarter when the team went on a 12-5 run through the first five-and-a-half minutes. The Terriers responded by knocking down six three-pointers in the quarter to cut their deficit to seven at halftime.
Within the first three minutes of the second half, St. Francis Brooklyn cut its deficit down to three points. However, Stony Brook responded well, attacking St. Francis in the paint and pulling its lead back to 11 by the end of the third quarter. The team scored 12 of its 19 third-quarter points in the paint.
Stony Brook played its best basketball in the fourth quarter, shooting 58.3% from the floor while only surrendering a 33.3% field goal percentage. The team cruised to a win, ending the game on a 13-5 run.
Stony Brook shot 49.2% from the field and 50% from deep. Defensively, the team held the Terriers to just 37.1% shooting overall and 30% from three-point range. The Seawolves moved the ball well, racking up 14 assists as a team.
“We get better every time we play,” Langford said. “Again, that’s why I’m so happy for today. That we were able to shoot the ball so well, we had 14 assists … that means we are starting to connect and it’s coming together.”
Guard play was a key to the Seawolves victory, as Warren, Gonzalez and Shamarla King led the offense to success. Warren scored 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting while knocking down five of her seven threes. Gonzalez scored 13 points on 5-for-12 shooting while also grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out seven assists.
As for King, it was her best game as a Seawolf. She started the game in place of forward Nairimar Vargas-Reyes, who was inactive with a leg injury. In Vargas-Reyes’ absence, King scored 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting while grabbing eight rebounds to co-lead the team.
“I think knowing that we were down a man, I knew that I had to step up,” King said. “I kind of came with the mentality that we have to get a win, obviously. We knew we had to punch first and come in in attack mode, so I just came in and did that.”
Forward Sherese Pittman also played well for Stony Brook She scored 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting, grabbed eight rebounds and recorded three steals.
St. Francis Brooklyn guard Alyssa Fisher was the best player on the court for the Terriers, scoring 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting. She also recorded six rebounds and four assists, but she did commit five turnovers.
The Seawolves will look to build on this win on Wednesday, Dec. 21 when they host the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks at 2 p.m. It will be their final non-conference game of the season. The Hawks are 3-9 this season after losing to La Salle 82-72 on Saturday.
