Though guard Annie Warren broke the Stony Brook women’s basketball team’s all-time three-point record, the accomplishment was not enough to grab a win.
After a devastating loss on Sunday, the Seawolves (13-9, 7-4 CAA) traveled to Boston on Thursday to take on the Northeastern Huskies. A poor three-point shooting night mixed with a bad finish resulted in Stony Brook losing 68-63. With this loss, the team is now in a three-way tie for third place in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).
Stony Brook took a four-point lead into halftime led by guard Gigi Gonzalez’s 13 points. However, Northeastern guard Derin Erdogan flipped the game’s momentum by draining a mid-range jumper off a nifty crossover move. Erdogan’s basket sparked a 9-0 run by the Huskies, giving themselves a 42-37 lead with three minutes left in the third quarter.
Warren responded to the Huskies’ run with five unanswered points of her own to tie the game at 42 apiece with 27 seconds left in the quarter. Northeastern stole the momentum back when forward Jaelyn Batts beat the buzzer with a putback to give the Huskies a two-point lead going into the fourth quarter.
Northeastern took this momentum into the final quarter, scoring five straight points to push its lead to seven. Gonzalez responded with five straight points of her own, only for Northeastern to go on another big run. Starting with a layup from Erdogan with 5:20 remaining, the Huskies went on an 11-3 run to extend their lead to double digits.
The 10-point deficit was too steep a hill for Stony Brook to climb. The Seawolves battled back, cutting the deficit down to just three points with 1:16 remaining after a layup by Warren. Northeastern forward Asha Parker halted Stony Brook’s rally with a layup with just 33 seconds remaining. A free throw by Batts extended the Huskies’ lead to six points. Warren halved the deficit with another three-pointer with just 20 seconds remaining.
After Northeastern guard Gemima Motema nailed a free throw to make it 66-62, Warren and Gonzalez missed back-to-back three-pointers to end their hopes of a comeback.
“Northeastern was the better team tonight,” head coach Ashley Langford said in a postgame interview with Stony Brook Athletics. “We will regroup and focus on closing out the weekend with a win.”
Poor three-point shooting was a factor in the Seawolves’ loss, as they shot just 7-for-28 from deep. Overall, Stony Brook shot just 35.1%. The team was sloppy, giving away 14 points off 13 turnovers. Stony Brook’s shot defense struggled as well, allowing the Huskies to shoot 49.2% from the field. It got worse in the second half, as the team surrendered a 51.5% field goal percentage after halftime.
Stony Brook was hurt immensely in the paint and on fast break opportunities. The Seawolves were outscored 42-28 in the paint and 20-2 on fast breaks. However, they did dominate on second chances, outscoring Northeastern 19-9 on those opportunities.
Warren’s three-pointer with 2:48 remaining in the third quarter broke the program’s all-time record for three pointers made in a career. With her 19 points, Warren also surpassed the 1,300 career points mark.
Gonzalez was the team’s leading scorer with 23 points on 9-for-25 shooting. She also dished out four assists, sharing the team lead with Warren. Center Sherese Pittman recorded a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds in the losing effort. She also picked up four steals on defense.
Erdogan, Motema and Batts played an integral role in the Huskies’ win. Erdogan and Motema co-led Northeastern with 19 points each. Batts only scored five points but set a new career high in rebounds with 16.
Northeastern’s defense made a lot of splash plays. The team blocked eight shots and racked up eight steals on the night. Four different players, including Motema and Batts, recorded two blocks each.
Stony Brook will look to end its two-game losing streak on Sunday against the Hofstra Pride in the Battle of Long Island. Hofstra is 9-13 this season and 3-8 in conference play. The Pride won their last game 58-57 over Towson on Thursday. Opening tip-off will take place at 1 p.m.