The Stony Brook women’s basketball team was within four points of winning its first conference game of the season on Saturday. Senior guard Kori Bayne-Walker made both of her free throws and the team had the momentum to win with 3:09 remaining in the game.
However, the Seawolves were only able to muster two more points in those final minutes, as the Albany Great Danes went on an 8-2 run to halt the comeback and win Saturday afternoon’s game, 64-54, at SEFCU Arena.
Junior guard Aaliyah Worley and senior guard Christa Scognamiglio led the way for Stony Brook, as both players poured in 13 points. Scognamiglio hauled in six rebounds and was a thief for the team, tying her season high in steals with four. Meanwhile, Worley’s 13 points tied her season best as well.
Every time the Seawolves went on a small run to cut their deficit below five points, the Great Danes would go on a bigger run of their own and increase the lead. Early in the fourth quarter, Worley dropped in a three-pointer to cut the lead to 44-43 in favor of the Great Danes with 9:37 remaining.
After that bucket, Albany went on an 8-0 run over the next three minutes to give itself a nine-point lead. From that point, Albany’s lead never dropped below four points. Redshirt junior guard Jessica Féquière lead the way in scoring for Albany, putting in 24 points on nine-of-14 shooting and grabbing nine rebounds as well.
While Stony Brook may have lost a game, they did join the ranks of the nation’s best with their accurate free-throw shooting. The team went a combined 23-of-25 from the line, a season-best 92 percent. The game marked the fifth-most-efficient team shooting performance, with at least 25 free throw attempts, in the NCAA this season.
Adding to the team’s performance, two players are climbing up the ladder for school program records. Bayne-Walker is just six assists away from tying the school record of 417 assists set by Mykeema Ford.
Scognamiglio’s only three-pointer of the night put her into the history books, as she passed Kelly Watson for third-most three-pointers in school history with 124.
After the loss, the Seawolves will have a whole week off before returning home to Island Federal Credit Union Arena for a home conference matchup against the Maine Black Bears on Saturday at 1 p.m.
