The Stony Brook Women’s Basketball season came to an end Saturday afternoon after falling 71-54 to the New Hampshire Wildcats for the second consecutive year.
The senior class dominated the rim for the Wildcats, scoring 60 of the team’s 71 total points. Four seniors finished the game with double digits in points, including senior guard Brittni Lai, who led the team with 21 points and shot 4-5 in the charity stripe. Senior center Carlie Pogue and senior forward Kat Fogarty finished with 14 and 13 points respectively, and combined for 21 of the team’s 45 rebounds.
“I thought New Hampshire’s senior class really came to play and did not want to be denied,” head coach Caroline McCombs said in a press release. “They shot the ball extremely well, and worked hard on the other end to not allow us to get into an offensive rhythm.”
The teams were evenly matched in the first quarter, each forcing turnovers and trading 3-pointers on two separate occasions. Following a 17-17 first quarter, Stony Brook took a four-point lead on a layup from junior guard Jerell Matthews to start the second. New Hampshire answered and went on an 18-4 run to close out the half with a 35-25 lead.
The Wildcats retained their hot streak in the second half and topped the Seawolves in nearly every category statistically. They finished the second half shooting 56 percent in field goals, nearly 43 percent in 3-pointers and outrebounded the Seawolves 45-36 overall.
Junior guard Shania ‘Shorty’ Johnson was a bright spot in the Seawolves’ loss. The only Stony Brook player to record double digits, Johnson finished with 23 points, 5 rebounds and went 5-12 from behind the arc. Her counterpart Matthews was uncharacteristically quiet on offense and finished with nine points while leading the team with four personal fouls.
Saturday’s contest was the final game for the Seawolves’ lone senior, guard Aaliyah Worley. Worley played in 89 games for the Seawolves, starting in 55, and averaged around five points per game in 2,116 career minutes on the court.
“I’m thankful for all Aaliyah Worley has done as a member of our program,” McCombs said after the game. “It’s a unique experience to be the only senior on a team, and she has done a great job being our leader this season both on and off the floor.”
The Seawolves finished the season with an 18-12 overall record, the best record in McCombs’ tenure as head coach. Three players were awarded America East honors following the conclusion of the season. Johnson was named to the First Team All-Conference, Matthews was named to the Third Team All-Conference and freshman forward McKenzie Bushee was named to the All-Rookie team.
“I’m extremely proud of our players’ growth and development this season,” McCombs said. “This game will be a huge learning opportunity for our returners to take into the postseason and fuel us for next year.”
Correction: March 4, 2018
An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that senior guard Aaliyah Worley averaged about 24 points per game in her four year career. She only averaged about five points per game.
