After giving up the game’s first basket, the Stony Brook women’s basketball led for the contest’s remainder for its fourth victory in its last five contests.
Coming off their first conference loss in the head coach Joy McCorvey era, the Seawolves (7-7, 2-1 CAA) returned to the win column on Friday night, when they hosted the William & Mary Tribe (4-10, 1-2 CAA) at Stony Brook Arena. Exceptional efforts on both ends of the floor culminated in a 66-48 victory for Stony Brook.
After William & Mary center Jana Sallman finished an open layup to open the scoring, the Seawolves responded by immediately taking the lead, as guard Zaida Gonzalez kicked it out to guard Janay Brantley for an uncontested three-pointer, which she drained.
On Stony Brook’s next possession, Gonzalez missed a three, but, following an offensive rebound from forward Shamarla King, the Seawolves’ top offensive weapon got another shot from beyond the arch and converted. Just over a minute later, Stony Brook made the Tribe pay again for their poor perimeter defense with another three-pointer, courtesy of Brantley.
The momentum continued thereafter for the hosts throughout the first quarter. Although William & Mary made consecutive shots to cut its deficit to 9-6, the Seawolves came right back with four unanswered points, which broke a brief, offensive dry spell. Following a layup by William & Mary guard Alexa Mikeska, Stony Brook concluded the frame with another 4-0 stretch.
The first period served as somewhat of a spoiler for the rest of the affair. The remaining three quarters played out in similar fashion, with the Seawolves being the more dynamic, and, thus, the more efficient scoring team on all three levels.
In the second quarter, Stony Brook did most of its work in the paint. Layups from King, Gonzalez, guard Breauna Ware and Brantley widened the gap, allowing the Seawolves to head into the locker room at halftime up 32-18.
The second half served as an avenue for Stony Brook to separate itself even further from the Tribe. The Seawolves kept their foot on the gas pedal throughout the 20 minutes, and despite facing some push back from the visitors at times, their advantage was never in the single-digits again.
McCorvey did not speak to the media after the game.
Stony Brook posted a .400/.333/.714 shooting line with 13 turnovers. Conversely, William & Mary registered a .317/.167/.417 triple slash alongside eight turnovers.
The Seawolves dominated on the glass, outrebounding the Tribe 47 to 36.
Brantley led the charge offensively with another stellar outing. She put up 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting to go with eight rebounds and two blocks. Over Stony Brook’s last three contests, she is averaging 20.7 points and 7.7 rebounds.
Gonzalez added 16 points on 7-of-17 shooting, and Ware delivered 13 points on a 5-of-8 efficiency.
For William & Mary, guard Bella Nascimento led it in scoring with 14 points, but was not efficient. She shot 5-for-17 from the field and 3-for-9 from three-point range.
The Seawolves will be back in action on Sunday, once again from Stony Brook Arena. They host the Charleston Cougars, who are 12-2 to begin the season and 3-0 in Coastal Athletic Association play after a 64-51 win over Hofstra. Opening tip-off is slated for noon.
