Stony Brook Women’s Basketball was on the verge of a valiant comeback in Binghamton on Wednesday night but came up short, losing 54-47.
Turnovers plagued the Seawolves. They amassed 19 throughout the game, with a couple of key turnovers occurring within the final three minutes. Stony Brook led at halftime, but found itself down eight midway through the third quarter. Binghamton led by just three with 4:17 to play after a senior forward Brittany Snow lay-up, but responded with a 7-0 run to take control.
The Seawolves are now 14-8 overall and 6-3 in the America East Conference, with just a 6-6 record in away games. They have lost their last three conference match-ups on the road.
With its first win against Stony Brook since 2012, Binghamton (5-4 AE) slides into fourth place in the America East. The Bearcats had a +10 turnover margin despite having trouble on offense. Binghamton’s leading scorer was sophomore guard Imani Watkins, who notched 17 points and eight rebounds. Freshman guard Rebecca Carmody added 12 points.
The Seawolves were held to a mere 47 points, their lowest total since mid-December. They shot just 36 percent from the field as a team. A silver lining in spite of the poor offensive output was freshman guard Davion Wingate, who recorded 19 points, three 3-pointers and six rebounds. She was also perfect at the free-throw line, a major benefit to Stony Brook, which ranks second to last in the conference in free-throw percentage.
It was a rough game for senior guard Kim Hanlon, who suffered an ankle injury at the conclusion of the third quarter and did not return. She was scoreless and 0-for-4 from beyond the 3-point line in 22 minutes of play. To add insult to injury, Snow, who leads the team in scoring, fouled out during the Seawolves’ late comeback.
The Seawolves offense failed to click when it needed to. The Bearcats trailed in both shooting percentage and rebounds, but were able to maintain their lead for the entire fourth quarter. Stony Brook’s bench was impressive when called upon, a bright spot for coach Caroline McCombs’s squad. The team has dealt with a few injuries, making bench play a key factor moving forward.
Stony Brook is now third in the America East standings, still trailing Albany and Maine. The Seawolves play their next conference match-up at home against UMass Lowell (3-17, 0-8 AE) on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 2 p.m..
