On Wednesday, Feb. 27, Stony Brook’s women’s basketball team, who had lost their last nine games, hosted the Binghamton Bearcats. A 73-72 loss continued their slump as they head into the final week before the AE tournament.

Despite the loss, Stony Brook played well against a veteran laden team. Of the five players that played the most minutes for the Bearcats, four were seniors and the fifth was a junior. The leading scorers for the Seawolves were freshman’s Kirsten Jeter and Jodie Plikus, scoring 14 and 15 points respectively.

In the first half, the game was close in every aspect. The score was 31-30 in Binghamton’s favor, while rebounding, shooting percentage, and turnovers were also virtually even. The largest lead any team had was six points. Aly Young led the way for the Seawolves with her 12 points, while shooting 4-4 from both the field and from the free throw line.

The second half was a different story. Binghamton came out of the locker room on fire and within six minutes had an 11-point lead. The Seawolves, fought back and went on a 12-1 tear to tie the game at 48 with 9:27 remaining in the game. The game would then go back into Binghamton’s favor, who out-scored the Seawolves 22-12 in the next six minutes for a commanding 10 point lead with only 2:34 remaining.

With the contest seemingly over, Stony Brook surged back to make it a game. The Seawolves scored seven straight points to pull within three points with 21 seconds remaining. After two free throws by Binghamton’s Laura Sario, the Seawolves were down by five with 20 seconds remaining. Jodie Plikus then hit a three-pointer to bring the Seawolves back within two points. Binghamton’s Brianna Thompson would go on to make 1-2 from the line to give the Bearcats a three-point lead. Stony Brook, however, couldn’t pull off the three-pointer needed and came up one point short after a lay-up by Kirsten Jeter.

‘It was a tough loss’ said Stony Brook’s head coach Michele Cherry on her team’s tenth straight loss. Despite the loss, she is optimistic, ‘Our young players have really stepped up.’ Freshmen Misha Horsey, Kirsten Jeter, Jodie Plikus, and sophomore Kairsten Nunn have been contributors for the Seawolves throughout the season. Sophomore Crystal Rushin and freshman Samantha Norwood have also seen increased minutes. ‘It was a good losing experience,’ said coach Cherry, whose young team is slowly showing flashes of a bright future.