The Stony Brook women’s basketball team rode a massive first quarter to remain unbeaten through two weeks.
After taking a 24-5 lead into the second quarter, the Seawolves (4-0) came out victorious against the Holy Cross Crusaders (2-2) on Sunday. Stony Brook took its foot off the gas during the middle two quarters but finished strong to secure the 68-55 win at Island Federal Arena.
For the fourth-straight game to begin the season, the Seawolves led after the opening period. However, Sunday was unlike the previous three contests.
After a cold start offensively for both teams, a jump shot by shooting guard Zaida Gonzalez broke the ice 2:39 into the game. Stony Brook did not look back after that, knocking down eight of its next 12 shots to close the frame, while also forcing Holy Cross to shoot just 2-of-15 from the field in the first quarter.
Head coach Ashley Langford said that Gonzalez’s jumper energized the entire team, sparking the explosion.
“It gets contagious,” Langford said in a postgame press conference. “Zaida hits a shot, then Khari [Clark] hits a three, then we’re getting stops. It starts feeling fun. We’re a good offensive team. We can score in bunches.”
Although they did not roll over the Crusaders in the second quarter, the Seawolves took a 17-point lead into halftime. The third frame began on the same note, with the teams trading points until the Crusaders upped the pressure during the final three minutes of the period.
Holy Cross power forward Lindsay Berger overpowered small forward Lauren Filien in the low post on back-to-back possessions to give her team four points. After a turnover by center Khari Clark, a layup by Holy Cross center Janelle Allen cut Stony Brook’s lead down to 10 points — the lowest it had been since there was just 2:30 remaining in the opening quarter.
Following a mid-range jumper by Clark and another bucket from Berger, Gonzalez drained a timely three-pointer to bolster the lead to 13. Gonzalez had her best outing as a Seawolf on Sunday, delivering a season-high 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting.
“Every shot that I take, I work on,” Gonzalez said. “I trust the work that I put in and know it’s going to show in the game.”
Berger closed the frame with a pair of made free throws, making it 52-41 heading into the fourth quarter. The Crusaders continued to inch closer in the fourth quarter, as a jumper by small forward Simone Foreman and a three-pointer from point guard Cara McCormack made it a six-point game with 8:31 remaining.
Gonzalez stepped up again and flipped the momentum when she converted from mid-range with 5:31 left. Allen responded with a bucket of her own, but the Seawolves’ defense stifled Holy Cross over the following five minutes, allowing them to restore their double-digit point lead.
Once the game reached its final minute, the Crusaders — who were over the limit — sent Stony Brook to the free-throw line five separate times, allowing it to ice the game.
The Seawolves missed their first eight shots of the final period and shot just 21.4% overall in the frame, which Langford attributes to a multitude of factors.
“We didn’t score the basketball because we didn’t execute offensively,” Langford said. “We were undisciplined, we didn’t run our sets correctly. We were not focused offensively.”
Despite its hot start shooting the ball, Stony Brook finished at a .365/.304/.882 clip. Still, it trumped Holy Cross’ .338/.207/.750 shooting line. The Seawolves also won the rebound battle 44-41 and committed one fewer turnover than the Crusaders.
Once again, Clark was Stony Brook’s leading scorer. She finished with 17 points on 6-for-11 shooting, which included a pair of made threes in the first quarter.
“It starts with practice,” Clark said. “What we’re doing is not rocket science. We’re just playing X’s and O’s. We’re trusting each other and it flows really well.”
Point guard Gigi Gonzalez was the team’s third-leading scorer with 11 points. However, she struggled offensively, as she shot 3-for-13 from the field. Power forwards Sherese Pittman and Shamarla King co-led Stony Brook with nine rebounds apiece. Five of Pittman’s boards were on the offensive glass.
Allen led Holy Cross with 17 points on 8-for-12 shooting.
The Seawolves will remain at home to take on the Delaware State Hornets on Wednesday. The Hornets are 0-4 this season after falling to Stony Brook’s cross-town rival — Hofstra — 66-53 last Wednesday. Opening tip-off is set for noon.
