Behind hot shooting from all over the court, the Stony Brook women’s team won its first road game of the new season.
The Seawolves (2-0) found themselves in control from start to finish against the Le Moyne Dolphins (0-3) on Sunday in Syracuse, N.Y. A well-rounded effort by the entire team led Stony Brook to an 82-61 win.
The Dolphins’ only lead of the game was in the opening minute. Their 3-2 advantage was erased with a baseline jump shot from center Khari Clark. Following that bucket, the Seawolves went on a 12-5 run to take an eight-point lead halfway through the quarter.
Clark’s presence in the paint was unmissable early on, as she had six points in the first period, helping Stony Brook take a 22-18 lead into the second quarter. Le Moyne closed the gap to just three points with 5:26 left in the first half, but the Seawolves responded with a 7-0 run with point guard Gigi Gonzalez accounting for five of the seven points.
Stony Brook blew the game open in the third quarter. After taking a 42-30 lead into halftime, the Seawolves began the second half on a 14-0 run. Gonzalez’s three-pointer capped off a run mainly powered by Clark, who had nine points during that stretch. Their defense was equally formidable, with shooting guard Victoria Keenan leading individual efforts that disrupted Le Moyne’s rhythm. By the end of the third, Stony Brook had a commanding 62-38 advantage.
The final quarter was much of the same, as the Seawolves went up by as much as 30 points after Keenan hit a three-pointer inside of five minutes to play. The rest of the game saw the Dolphins hit a couple of window-dressing free throws to make the game look closer, but their efforts were futile against Stony Brook’s insurmountable lead.
Clark built off her strong debut, finishing the afternoon with 19 points on 9-10 shooting to lead all scorers while also grabbing eight rebounds. Gonzalez and power forward Sherese Pittman stuffed the stat sheet as well. Both finished with 14 points, seven assists and two steals each. Point guard Janay Brantley co-led the team with seven dimes in just 18 minutes played off the bench.
The Seawolves’ bench mob was heavily involved, as they received 26 points from their reserves. Keenan led the unit with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting, all of which was from deep. She also led the squad with three steals.
Stony Brook had 10 different scorers on the afternoon, and they combined for a .549/.417/.762 shooting line. Their shots were falling all game long, as they only shot below 50% in one quarter.
The Seawolves dominated down low, winning the rebound battle 34-26 and outscoring Le Moyne 36-24 in the paint.
Stony Brook’s defensive effort played a large role in the win as well. It held the Dolphins to just 36.4% shooting from the field and 26.1% shooting from three-point range.
Head coach Ashley Langford was ecstatic about her team’s performance on both ends.
“I thought today was a total team effort,” Langford said in a postgame interview with Stony Brook Athletics. “It was really nice to see some of our younger players out there on the floor gaining experience. I thought we got better defensively, which will help us in the future.”
The Seawolves will finish their brief two-game road trip when they face the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks on Wednesday in Princess Anne, Md. The Hawks are 1-2 on the season after picking up a 91-71 victory over Washington Adventist on Saturday. Opening tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.
