The Stony Brook University women’s basketball team defeated the Nicholls State Colonels on Wednesday afternoon, 81-77, before Thanksgiving break. However, victory came at a cost; senior Jodie Plikus (Waterford, Conn.) went down with an apparent leg injury.
Plikus will join senior Misha Horsey (Wyncote, Pa.) on the injured list. According to head coach Michele Cherry, Horsey has a clean ACL tear. The ACL is one of four important ligaments in the knee.
Sophomore Sam Landers (Springfield, Va.) had a career-high in points with 16. Landers has taken up the slack in Horsey’s absence.
“She stepped up,” Cherry said. “She’s a solid point guard.”
Senior Kirsten Jeter (Elmont, N.Y.) had 15 points for her efforts.
Jeter may be putting too much pressure on herself, according to Cherry.
“She’s pressing too much,” she said after the game. “She’s trying to be perfect. She just wants us to win so badly.” Jeter has scored more than 1,000 points in her career at Stony Brook.
The Seawolves took the initial momentum in the game, forging their way to a 17-12 lead.
Then the Colonels hit three three-pointers in a row to take a four-point lead.
They would have eight three-pointers for the game, all of which came in the first half.
However, Stony Brook would fight back to make it 38-34 in favor of Nicholls State at the half, but that wasn’t good enough for Cherry.
“We lacked energy in the first half. They’re tough. They’re gritty. We knew they were going to be tough coming in,” she said.
Matters got worse for the Seawolves at the beginning of the second half. With 15:35 left, the Colonels led by eight.
Then Stony Brook went on a 7-0 run, and Plikus tied the game at 54 with a three-pointer, and the Seawolves took off from there.
The Colonels’ only breath of life came when Babin hit another three to make it 61-60 Nicholls State. However, Landers returned the favor with a three of her own, and Stony Brook then turned to their height advantage.
Junior Destiny Jacobs (Glen Burnie, Md.) pushed the Stony Brook lead to six. She had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
“Destiny’s playing better post defense and rebounding very well,” Cherry said.
The Colonels refused to give up. They fouled the Seawolves with almost annoying frequency at the end of the game, but Stony Brook wouldn’t slip up. Landers made all four of her free throws in the final 12 seconds of the game.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, Cherry said, “I’m thankful that we have great kids on our team. I’m really thankful to have the players that we have.”
Stony Brook is now 2-2. The Seawolves will play next on their home court on Tuesday against Monmouth at 7 p.m.
