The Stony Brook women’s basketball team struggled to hold its ground down the stretch in its fifth straight loss.
On Sunday afternoon, the Seawolves (11-16, 6-10 CAA) hosted the Monmouth Hawks (14-13, 9-7 CAA) at Stony Brook Arena. The teams engaged in a back-and-forth battle, ultimately ending with the visitors taking the game after a dominant final period, besting Stony Brook 63-56.
With an enthusiastic crowd behind them, the Seawolves began the opening frame with tight defense in a 2-3 zone. When in possession of the ball, Stony Brook faced the same look it displayed defensively, which had mixed results. One one hand, the Seawolves shot an efficient 5-for-10 from the field in the opening 10 minutes, led by guard Zaida Gonzalez who contributed four points and an assist, but they also turned the ball over six times in the first quarter.
Conversely, Monmouth struggled with its shot in the opening period — posting a 33.3% shooting percentage — but it took an 11-10 lead to the second frame, courtesy of playing the cleaner basketball out of both sides.
The Seawolves’ offense gradually gained momentum in the second quarter, aided by Gonzalez and guard Breauna Ware combining for nine points in the period spread across all three levels. During the frame, the Hawks adjusted to a full-court press as the aforementioned tandem made easy work of their zone defense, highlighted by each sinking a three-pointer. However, Stony Brook’s defense began to crack later in the quarter, allowing Monmouth to convert three of its last four shots before halftime, leading to a tied 25-25 affair after 20 minutes had passed.
The hosts came out fierce back from the break, with Ware dropping a three right out the gate against the Hawks’ zone. Overall, it was a party from beyond the arc for the Seawolves in the third period, as they drained all six of their three-point attempts in the frame, including four from Ware.
“I thought [Ware] played really well,” head coach Joy McCorvey said in a postgame press conference. “Obviously, she was 5-for-7 from three and it was huge. She was confident, she took some really good shots, she had eight rebounds. Her defense was really good, and we’ve obviously harped on the defensive end a lot more.”
However, while its long-range shots were sticking, Stony Brook’s paint work proved to be its Achilles heel in the quarter and the contest as a whole, as it was outscored 32-12 in that department on Sunday. Nonetheless, 18 points from threes allowed the Seawolves pull them out of the stalemate that was developing in this Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) affair, going up 47-41 with one period left to play.
With a chance to break its worst losing slump of its 2024-25 campaign, Stony Brook collapsed in the final frame despite getting off on the right foot. Five points from Gonzalez allowed it to maintain a six-point advantage nearly halfway through the quarter until things went off the rails.
While the Seawolves relied on the three-ball earlier, Monmouth excelled within the perimeter, especially after going down 52-46. It ended the game with four consecutive two-point makes. Mixed with free throws and a cold stretch from Stony Brook — which scored two points in the contest’s final 4:11 — the Hawks stole one on Long Island.
“I thought we played well for 32 minutes,” McCorvey said. “And then in the fourth, a combination of both defensively, didn’t get the stops we needed and offensively, we needed a couple more baskets to go down.”
This one falling from the Seawolves’ grasp means it now has the third-worst record in the conference, just above Hampton (3-13) and Northeastern (1-15).
“We’re in a tough stretch right now,” McCorvey said. “My heart aches for our players because we are right there. We’re so close, but the “so close” gets tiring after a while.”
Stony Brook posted a .373/.400/.400 shooting line with 13 turnovers. Conversely, Monmouth registered a .500/.167/.667 triple slash alongside also giving away the ball 13 times.
As McCorvey alluded to, Ware was the Seawolves’ top performer in the defeat. She finished with 23 points on 9-of-21 total shooting and totaled a career-high in makes from beyond the arc. Gonzalez was the team’s only other double-digit scorer with 16 points on a rough 6-for-21 from the field.
Monmouth forward Taisha Exanor and guard Damaris Rodriguez combined for 31 points to spearhead the Hawks.
Stony Brook’s next outing is on Thursday for the first of its two games in its final week of the regular season. It plays the Hofstra Pride in Hempstead, N.Y. for the second round of this year’s Battle of Long Island. The Pride are 12-15 overall and 7-9 in CAA play this season, following a 54-34 win over William & Mary. Opening tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
