For a half, Stony Brook University’s women’s basketball team stood toe-to-toe with the second best team in the conference. The Seawolves had the Vermont Catamounts on the ropes, struggling to score against their stingy defense and unable to stop their timely scoring flurries.

But the game is a game of two halves, and Stony Brook had difficulty carrying its success from the first into the second. The home team struggled in the last 20 minutes, eventually falling 64-49 at Pritchard Gymnasium Tuesday night.

The evening started with Stony Brook honoring junior forward, Kirsten Jeter (Elmont, N.Y.), who collected her 1,000th point in the tough loss against Boston University last week.

After the teams were knotted at 13 about nine minutes into the first half, a deep three-point bucket from junior guard Cassie Klockgether (San Diego, Calif.) gave the Seawolves the lead and kick started a quick 7-0 run. Stony Brook’s pesky defense forced turnovers and rushed Vermont into tough shots, contributing to their poor 37 percent shooting in the first half.

But the Catamounts fought to stay in the game, forcing some turnovers of their own and connecting from long range to eventually regain the lead. At the halftime break, Stony Brook went into the locker room down 28-26, still within striking distance from the conference heavyweight that knocked them out 67-45 last time they met.

But the second period showed a completely different Seawolves team. The poise and offensive execution that led to a slight lead early on were eliminated by a tough Catamount defense.

“Vermont picked up its intensity on defense at the start of the second half and we went into panic mode,” said head coach, Michele Cherry.

The Seawolves committed a total of 22 turnovers for the game, with a few crucial ones coming early in the second period, just as Vermont began to pull away. Greater defensive intensity translated to smoother offensive rhythm, as Vermont reeled off an overwhelming 18-0 run that put Stony Brook in a 48-30 hole with roughly 13 minutes to go.

But the home team would not go down easy. Behind nine points from Jeter, the Seawolves managed to trim the gap to 56-47 with just three minutes to go. But the Catamounts tightened their grip from the charity stripe, making their last eight attempts and securing the win.

Despite the rally and an impressive 14 points and five boards from sophomore center, Destiny Jacobs (Glen Burnie, Md.), Stony Brook did too little too late to pull off the upset win.

“We did a great job of fighting our way back into the game, but we spent so much energy clawing our way back that we ran out of gas at the end,” Coach Cherry added.

The team is home again on Saturday, facing off against UMBC its last regular season game. Seawolves seniors Joia Daniels and Crystal Rushin. It will also be the  Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Pink Zone game. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.