No, Roland Nyama was not in the building, but the three-point ball was still on fire for the Seawolves on Sunday afternoon. This time, it was senior Sabre Proctor who hit a couple of long-range bombs to change the momentum and lead a deep-ball barrage, catapulting the Stony Brook’s women’s basketball team on a second-half surge to beat Albany, 68-64. It was only fitting that it was Proctor and senior Jessica Ogunnorin, who hit a late three-pointer and a free throw that gave the Seawolves breathing room, that got the job done on their Senior Night at Island Federal Credit Union Arena.
Head Coach Caroline McCombs’ described both Proctor and Ogunnorin’s play on both ends of the floor, which contributed to ending Albany’s 30-game in-conference road winning streak, as “special moments”.
“Those were key moments where we needed plays to be made and they were able to make them,” she said.
When both McCombs and Albany’s Head Coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson drew up their respective game plans before the contest, both more than likely heavily incorporated their best players, Proctor and junior Shereesha Richards of the Great Danes.
However, early foul trouble for both teams virtually eliminated them from the first half.
Two apiece only allowed Proctor to stay on the court for five minutes, while Richards had to take a seat after eight.
That forced a sloppy, grind-it-out opening 20 minutes in which the Seawolves and Great Danes combined for 23 turnovers. Albany pressed Stony Brook, putting pressure on any and all Seawolves ball-handlers, while McCombs’ team played tight defense on the other end.
In the second half, with both stars back on the floor, it looked as if Richards would show why she deserved to win the America East Player of the Year once again after taking it last season.
She dominated down low early on, before the Seawolves adjusted.
“She takes five players to guard her and so we were able to stay with the game plan as their guards made some shots,” McCombs said. “We just stayed the course.”
When they made headway in shutting down the most potent offensive threat for the Great Danes, it was because of sending double-and-triple teams Richards’ way, forcing her into bad shots or team turnovers.
Proctor on the other hand came out firing in the second half, scoring 17 of her 21 points in the final 20 minutes.
“I just wanted to stay composed and I wanted to keep my team together,” Proctor said. “We just wanted to stay composed and wanted to get stops and try to score on the offensive end.”
That she did, pacing her team to their biggest win of the season.
Junior Brittany Snow finished with 17 points and seven rebounds while sophomore Kori Bayne-Walker tallied 14 points and five assists while breaking the press of the Great Danes.
It was a great follow-up to what was a solid performance for Stony Brook on Wednesday night. The Seawolves scored only 15 points in the first half of their game against UMass-Lowell in Island Federal Credit Union Arena.
It took them just 6:05 in the second half to do the same, and it was their energy coming out in the second half that propelled the Seawolves to a win over the River Hawks.
After only scoring 49 points in a tough loss the game before against the top team in the America East Conference, Maine, pouring in 47 in the second half alone was an impressive feat.
Snow, who is always a menace on the glass, nearly outscored the entire UMass-Lowell team by herself in an efficient second twenty minutes.
After staying quiet on the scoreboard, grabbing five boards in the first, Snow heated up those who came into Island FCU Arena from the cold with 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting.
She had 19 on the night, helping earn a big conference win.
The Seawolves will look to secure the third seed for the America East Tournament with two road games to close out what has been an up-and-down regular season slate.
A win over either Binghamton or Hartford will do the trick, as McCombs and company charge full steam ahead into March.
