Dominant first and third quarters elevated the Stony Brook women’s basketball back to above .500 in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play.

Following a brief road trip, the Seawolves (9-9, 4-3 CAA) returned home to Stony Brook Arena to host the Northeastern Huskies (1-14, 0-6 CAA). A pair of one-sided periods helped Stony Brook snap a two-game losing streak in a 62-46 win.

Concluding the opening frame, guard Zaida Gonzalez drained a three-pointer to cap off a 9-0 run by the Seawolves, handing them a 14-5 lead after 10 minutes.

Although the Huskies failed to score in the first quarter’s final 4:55, the break seemingly did them well, as they came out firing in the second period. After forward Shamarla King scored the frame’s first four points to give Stony Brook a 13-point advantage, Northeastern responded with a 14-2 run. It was successful from all three levels while the Seawolves’ offense shot 1-for-6 and committed four turnovers during their cold stretch.

A left-wing three by Northeastern guard Camille Clement put a bow on the run, which cut her team’s deficit to 20-19. After each side turned it over on their next possession, King worked her way into the low post before passing it to forward Elizabeth Field, who drilled a much-needed, mid-range jumper for the Seawolves. 

Stony Brook also tightened up defensively, keeping its opponents off the board for the remainder of the quarter following Clement’s make. On the other end, guard Chloe Oliver and King earned separate trips to the charity stripe and combined to go 3-for-4 on their attempts, putting the Seawolves up 25-19 at the halftime break.

The Huskies were the better team to kick off the second half. They scored the third period’s first five points — pulling within one once again — while holding Stony Brook to four consecutive empty possessions.

However, once the Seawolves got on the board through a free throw by Gonzalez, they never looked back. After six straight points, guard Janay Brantley stole the ball from Northeastern guard Yirsy Quéliz and went coast-to-coast for the hoop and the harm. Nearly two minutes later, Oliver entered the action in a big way. She scored in three consecutive possessions for Stony Brook, pushing its lead to 42-28.

“I really pride myself on my defense, and my defense led to my offense,” Oliver said in a postgame press conference. “If I’m able to get a stop and then play in transition, my teammates will find me.”

Oliver’s barrage served as the quintessential dagger for Friday’s affair. Trading buckets in the final frame allowed the Seawolves to cruise to a convincing victory.

Stony Brook posted a 463/.375/.667 shooting line. Contrarily, it was suffocating on the defensive end, forcing Northeastern to a .358/.200/.1000 triple slash.

“It starts with our ball pressure,” head coach Joy McCorvey said. “We want to be disruptive, but we want to be disciplined in our disruption of offense. We were active, we didn’t allow them to get in the paint.”

The Seawolves’ zone defense also played dividends in the turnover department, as they forced the Huskies to cough up the ball 21 times. On the other end, Stony Brook committed 11 turnovers.

The victory was a true team effort. The Seawolves had seven players score at least seven points, with Oliver leading the way as the only double-digit scorer with 10 points on a flawless 4-of-4 shooting from the field.

“It was us moving the ball, having great spacing,” McCorvey said. “If you told me we would’ve scored 62 and the highest person on our team scored 10, I don’t know if I would’ve believed you in the beginning of the game. It speaks to the work they’ve been putting in. We want them to be confident.”

Gonzalez chipped in nine points on 3-of-10 shooting, including 2-for-6 from downtown. Brantley, King and guard Devyn Scott scored eight points apiece, while guard Breauna Ware posted seven and a team-high five assists.

Moreno led Stony Brook with six rebounds.

Quéliz led Northeastern with 17 points on 8-of-20 shooting and 1-for-7 from three-point range. She also led the Huskies in boards with eight. 

Next, the Seawolves will host the Campbell Camels at Stony Brook Arena on Sunday. The Camels are 10-8 overall and 3-3 in conference play this season. They are coming off a 55-47 defeat to Hofstra. Opening tip-off is set for 1 p.m.