For a moment, it was déjà vu all over again. The Seawolves fans in attendance had nothing to worry about, however, as missed free throws once again led to a win, albeit one that was not as heart-wrenching as the men’s opener, with the women’s basketball team beating Saint Peter’s 56-40.
When No. 20, junior Brittany Snow, stepped to the line with the Seawolves trailing by one just 3:19 into the game, it was flashback time for the Stony Brook faithful. No. 20, Jameel Warney, of the men’s team stepped to the charity stripe himself on Friday night with the team down a point.
He missed both, leading to a wild turn of events resulting in Rayshaun McGrew’s eventual game-winner.
Two missed free throws by Snow set the tone for the Seawolves on Saturday night for the opening game of the women’s basketball era in Island FCU Arena, but unlike the frenzy that ensued the previous night, things were far more straight forward for Stony Brook.
For much of the first half, the Peacocks hung tough with the Seawolves, using a zone defense to accentuate the early jitters for Stony Brook.
With only 7:21 left to go in the first half, the teams were tied at 11 apiece, leaving doubt as to whether the drama of the men’s opener would show up at “The Island” once again.
Redshirt junior Miranda Jenkins hit a jumper off of an assist by new starting point guard, sophomore Kori Bayne-Walker, and the Seawolves never looked back.
“I thought it was a battle,” senior Sabre Proctor said. “I was really proud of the girls and our effort and even though everything wasn’t as pretty as we meant it to be, I thought we played really well, we played with heart.”
Proctor showed that battle early and often, causing a havoc in the paint
throughout the game.
She started her final season with the Seawolves with 15 big points, many of which came from her tenacity in the rebounding department, fighting for every ball that
was up for grabs.
She was not the only one making it a tough night for the Peacocks as the Seawolves picked up right where they left off last year, wreaking havoc on the boards.
Snow, who was the only Stony Brook player to miss a free throw on the night, more than made up for it with her effort.
As she has become known for, Snow showed throughout the game that whenever the basketball was up for grabs, not only did she want it, but that she would make sure that she would get it.
With eight rebounds on the night, five of which were on the offensive glass, she created many second chance opportunities for Stony Brook.
Another not so out of the ordinary performance came from Jenkins, who came flying into the paint from the wing all night long, grabbing five offensive boards of her own.
Many of those rebounds were passed out to the top of the key where Bayne-Walker was waiting to run the offense.
Run the offense she did, penetrating the Saint Peter’s defense as well, to not only earn her own opportunities, scoring 11 important points, but facilitating her teammates.
It was a big night for new head coach Caroline McCombs, leading a team as the head coach for the first time. It was the first of what both she and Seawolves fans hope will be many wins
on Long Island.
“It’s awesome,” McCombs said. “You know, just walking on the court tonight and playing in this place just was really
something special.”
McCombs’ mother and grandmother made the trip to see her first game at the helm of a team, joining the IFCU Arena crowd in witnessing the win.
“I knew I needed my two good luck charms,” McCombs joked after the game.
After completing Stony Brook’s opening weekend sweep at its new home, it is time to get into the meat of the season, with preseason practices and workouts in the past.
The Seawolves have to regroup from the excitement of opening night quickly, heading to West Point on Tuesday for a matchup with Army.
Correction: November 17, 2014
A previous version referred to the Saint Peter’s women’s basketball team as the “Saint Peter’s Peahens.” The team is known as the “Saint Peter’s Peacocks.”
