The Stony Brook women’s basketball team showed plenty of fight in its recent conference matchups against Maine and Albany, but ultimately failed to come away with a victory in either game. The Seawolves dropped a heartbreaker at home to the Black Bears last Saturday, then fell in New York state’s capital two days later.

Against Maine, the Seawolves found themselves down 47-37 with just under five minutes to play in the second half. But, Stony Brook was far from ready to pack it in.

A layup from red-shirt junior guard Miranda Jenkins cut the Black Bears lead to single digits. Then a pair of buckets from senior forward Sabre Proctor pulled the Seawolves within four points with 2:53 remaining in regulation.

25 seconds later, a three-point play was converted by Maine’s Sigi Koizar to put the Black Bears back up by seven. However, Stony Brook was still not ready to quit. Four free throws by Proctor got SBU back within just three points with 48 seconds left on the game clock.

Koizar would come up large once again, converting a layup on a fast break opportunity to give her team a 53-48 advantage. Jenkins then responded for the Seawolves with a layup of her own with 33 seconds left.

A pair of made free throws by Koizar would expand the Black Bears lead back to five before Proctor responded with a clutch three-pointer to make it just a two-point game with 20 seconds remaining.

Stony Brook then quickly fouled Maine’s Mikaela Gustafsson, who would then make 1-of-2 shots from the line. With 11 seconds left, Proctor had a chance to tie the game with a three, but missed the shot.

SBU was able to still maintain possession off the missed shot, and after a Seawolves timeout, junior forward Brittany Snow was able to get to the foul line and cut the Black Bears lead to 56-55. But, with just 3.7 seconds left, Stony Brook was in a desperate position. After a pair of made free throws by Black Bears guard Sophie Weckstrom, Snow was forced to heave a half-court shot at the buzzer. The attempt failed and Maine came away with the 58-55 victory.

Proctor finished with a team-high 16 points for the Seawolves in the game. Sophomore forward Christa Scognamiglio and Snow also reached double-digit point totals for SBU on Saturday.

On Monday, first-year Head Coach Caroline McCombs got her first shot to take on conference powerhouse Albany. In the first half, her team struggled to keep up with the Great Danes, and the Seawolves found themselves trailing 36-24 heading into the break.

Albany outscored the Seawolves, 14-6, in the paint over the first 20 minutes. The Great Danes also scored 18 points off 11 SBU turnovers in the first half. Sophomore guard Kori Bayne-Walker was guilty of four of those giveaways and Proctor was responsible for three.

The Great Danes continued their strong play early on in the second half, and with 10:31 remaining, held a 54-34 lead over Stony Brook. Despite this, the Seawolves would remarkably find their way back into the game.

Senior guard Jessica Ogunnorin, junior forward Alyssa Coiro and Scognamiglio helped spark a 19-6 run for Stony Brook. A three-pointer by Scognamiglio with 3:11 remaining cut Albany’s lead to just seven points.

This would be as close as the Seawolves would get, as SBU was unable to keep up its hot shooting during the game’s final minutes. The Great Danes would hang on for a 69-59 win.

Despite the tough loss, Stony Brook fans can still be pleased with the fact that the Seawolves were able to hang with one of the conference’s top teams on the road, with one of their top players in Snow absent from the lineup and with limited offensive contributions from Proctor and Bayne-Walker.

Proctor, who has been one of the America East’s top scorers this season, failed to make a field goal in 29 minutes of action during Monday night’s contest. Bayne-Walker’s performance also left a lot to be desired, as she finished with just five points and turned the ball over six times.

On the flip side Scognamiglio proved once again to be a valuable weapon off the bench, as she drained five three pointers and scored a career-high 19 points in the game. Ogunnorin also stepped up offensively against the Great Danes, finishing with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting.

The Seawolves have shown that they are capable of hanging with the America East’s top teams, but will need to find a way to play more complete games if they are to have success moving forward. Heading into Thursday’s matchup against UMass-Lowell, Stony Brook was 2-3 in America East play and 9-9 overall.