
The Stony Brook women’s basketball team could not handle an aggressive approach in a wire-to-wire loss.
Looking to snap a three-game road losing streak, the Seawolves (10-10, 5-4 CAA) traveled to South Carolina to take on the Charleston Cougars (14-5, 5-3 CAA) at TD Arena on Friday. Despite a valiant effort, Stony Brook could not recover from a rough first quarter, falling 66-53 as the teams split their regular season series.
With 4:41 left in the opening period, forward Shamarla King knocked down a three-pointer. On the Seawolves’ ensuing possession — following a missed jumphsot from Charleston guard McKinley Brooks-Sumpter — guard Breauna Ware added two more with a layup.
Despite the positive stretch for Stony Brook, King and Ware’s buckets solely served to cut its deficit to four. On the back of struggles on both sides of the ball, the Seawolves dug themselves an early hole.
Defensively, Stony Brook could not figure out the Cougars’ weave action — which they ran from the opening tip. Consequently, Charleston began the contest an efficient 4-for-8 from the field, which helped build it a 9-0 lead.
On the other end, the Seawolves consistently failed to create good looks. Guard Zaida Gonzalez — their top weapon — misfired on her three attempts in the first quarter. Overall, Stony Brook shot just 15.6% from the field in the opening 10 minutes and trailed 20-6.
After the early disadvantage, the Seawolves picked up their play in the remaining three periods. They shot the ball significantly better and after transitioning from a zone to man defense, Stony Brook made life more difficult for the hosts on the offensive side.
However, this is when the Cougars showcased elite shotmaking. The fourth-ranked three-point shooting team in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), Charleston seemingly had no issue with stepping beyond the arch to erase comeback attempts from the Seawolves.
With 5:28 remaining in the third frame, King made a tip-in to trim the Cougars’ lead to 33-28, the closest Stony Brook got in the second half. In response, Charleston drained threes on three consecutive possessions, courtesy of guards Taryn Barbot — who drilled a pair — and Sophia Tougas.
Although the Seawolves were able to keep it a single-digit affair in the fourth quarter, it was to no avail, as in no section of the game were they able to fully disrupt the Cougars’ offensive rhythm.
Head coach Joy McCorvey did not speak to the media after the game.
Stony Brook posted a .356/.417/.640 shooting line and committed 18 turnovers. Conversely, Charleston registered a .439/.300/.833 slashline alongside nine turnovers.
Ware led the Seawolves in scoring and tied her career-high with 21 points on 5-of-11 shooting. She made frequent trips to the free throw line, finishing 10-for-15 from the charity stripe.
Gonzalez was the only other Stony Brook player in the double-digits in scoring. She finished with 16 points on 6-of-16 shooting, including 3-for-7 from deep.
Barbot, Brooks-Sumpter and guard Jazmyn Stone led the way for the Cougars. The trio combined for 47 points.
Before heading home next week, the Seawolves will look to win their first game away from Stony Brook Arena in nearly a month on Sunday. They will take on the University of North Carolina Wilmington Seahawks in North Carolina. The Seahawks are 11-10 overall and 5-3 in CAA play this season after a 70-67 overtime win over Hofstra. Opening tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.