In a game it never led in, a slow start proved too much to overcome for the Stony Brook women’s basketball team in its fourth straight loss.
On Saturday afternoon, the Seawolves (3-5) took on the Holy Cross Crusaders (5-4) in Worcester, Mass. Stony Brook fell behind by double digits in the first quarter and were unable to dig itself out of the hole the rest of the game, falling 73-56.
In the opening minutes of the first quarter, Holy Cross wasted no time, scoring seven straight points behind the combination of Holy Cross guards Kaitlyn Flanagan and Mary-Elizabeth Donnelly. Flanagan found Donnelly above the break, freeing her up for a three-point make that would cap off the early offensive burst. The Crusaders kept the Seawolves at bay the rest of the quarter, as guard Janay Brantley laid the ball up to cut the Crusaders’ lead to 18-9 entering the second quarter.
The second quarter was much of the same, as Holy Cross extended its lead back to double digits thanks to a three-pointer from Cahalan. Stony Brook’s best effort came forth, as guard Khalis Whiting and forward Lauren Filien cut into the deficit with a layup and a made free throw, respectively.
The Seawolves did not let up as guard Zaida Gonzalez threaded the needle with a pass to forward Shamarla King who spun off two Crusaders defenders for a layup. In the ensuing possession, King stole the ball from Foreman in the paint and went coast-to-coast for a layup to cut the lead down to five points, 27-22.
However, Holy Cross rang off a 10-2 run to close the first half to extend its lead back to double digits at 37-24 going into halftime.
The third period was Foreman’s show, as she scored the Crusaders’ first nine points in the opening minutes. Foreman had her way in the paint, scoring layups and getting to the charity stripe for her team. She put the exclamation point on the run with a fadeaway jumper over guard Chloe Oliver, extending Holy Cross’ lead to 51-33 — its largest of the game.
The Seawolves had some life in the fourth quarter, as they cut the lead to 10 with 3:57 remaining after Brantley fed Filien for a layup. It was to no avail as they would be the last points of the game for Stony Brook. With 1:15 to go in the remaining frame, Flanagan nailed a right-wing three-pointer to put the dagger in the contest and send the Seawolves off with a loss.
Head coach Joy McCorvey did not speak to the media after the game.
The Seawolves’ fatigue as a result of a short-handed rotation was evident today, as they posted a .368/.214/.786 shooting line compared to the Crusaders’ .464/.278/.842 shooting line.
King was the leading scorer for Stony Brook with 18 points on six-of-14 shooting along with eight rebounds to go along with it. Gonzalez was the second-leading scorer with 12 points on five-of-12 shooting.
Brantley had nine points on three-of-seven shooting with a team-leading and career-high 10 rebounds.
Holy Cross had four players in the double-digits in scoring. Foreman led the way with 21 points on eight-of-19 shooting from the field alongside five boards.
Next up, Stony Brook will travel to Buffalo, N.Y. to take on the Buffalo Bulls on Saturday. The Bulls are 8-0 to start the year after defeating Binghamton 74-51. Opening tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
