Despite an overall poor shooting effort, the Stony Brook women’s basketball team found the back of the net when it mattered in its first victory of the year.
Reeling from a tough, season-opening loss against Columbia, the Seawolves (1-1) matched up against the Le Moyne Dolphins (0-2) at Stony Brook Arena on Thursday night. Down midway through the fourth quarter, Stony Brook used a surge from guard Zaida Gonzalez to secure a 53-43 win.
The Seawolves came out of the gate hot in the opening period, as back-to-back three pointers by forward Shamarla King and guard Janay Brantley capped off a 8-0 Stony Brook run to start the game. Its momentum continued thereafter, with a tough finish in the paint from center Lauren Filien ballooning the lead to as much as 11 in the opening frame.
However, Le Moyne did not go down without a fight. It closed the gap to just four with 4:38 left in the second quarter, as the Seawolves’ offense went cold.
Once its lead was in real danger, Stony Brook woke up. It scored eight of the next 10 points while capitalizing off opportunities from the charity stripe, as the Seawolves went six-for-seven from the free-throw line during that stretch. Later in the period, a made free throw from King gave the Seawolves a 26-16 advantage at the half.
Stony Brook struck first following the break, as a nifty pass from Brantley resulted in a make from guard Breauna Ware beyond the arch to give the Seawolves their biggest lead of the night at 13.
However, throughout the third frame, the Dolphins slowly chipped away at their deficit, seriously cutting into the lead toward the end of the quarter. A 9-1 stretch to close out the period trimmed Stony Brook’s lead to 36-33 going into the final period.
Once in the final 10 minutes, Le Moyne kept its foot on the gas pedal. The Dolphins began the frame with four unanswered points for their first lead of the contest before the Seawolves responded with a 9-0 run to go back up 45-39. After Le Moyne forward Haedyn Roberts connected on a jumper, Gonzalez delivered consecutive baskets for Stony Brook.
“I trust my game,” Gonzalez said in a postgame press conference. “I put the work in. When the fourth quarter came, I knew we needed to put points on the board and I just shot my shot and those went in.”
Despite a layup from guard Megan Bodziony with 1:05 left to make it 49-43, the Dolphins were unable to recover. Gonzalez put the finishing touches on the Seawolves’ and head coach Joy McCorvey’s first head-coaching victory with a pair of made free throws, with Ware following suit by also sinking two shots from the charity stripe.
“We took a lot of teaching and learning moments from that game,” McCorvey said. “We always want to be on the defensive end. I’m very proud of [the team] for that growth.”
Gonzalez led the way offensively with 20 points on six-of-22 shooting. She shot seven-for-nine from the free-throw line and brought down eight rebounds.
Brantley flexed her two-way dominance on Thursday, as she registered five points, four assists, eight rebounds, two steals and a block. She served as Stony Brook’s defensive ringleader and was a central reason for Le Moyne’s .279/.200/.625 shooting line.
“I know in one-on-one, I am better than anyone else I am guarding,” Brantley said. “I take pride in that.”
Conversely, the Seawolves posted a .250/.154/.760 slashline.
Stony Brook will return to action on Friday against the Yale Bulldogs in New Haven, Conn. The Bulldogs are 1-0 and will face Michigan State and Hofstra before their matchup against the Seawolves. Opening tip-off for Friday’s affair is set for 6 p.m.
