The Stony Brook University women’s basketball team lost to Vermont, 68-50, on Saturday afternoon, falling victim to a huge Catamount rally in the final 10 minutes of the game.
The Seawolves were neck-and-neck with the Catamounts for nearly the entire game, but then the wheels came off and Vermont cruised to victory.
The start of the game was a sign of things to come. Vermont quickly secured a 9-2 lead a little less than five minutes into the game. The Catamounts were more efficient with their passes, and those passes turned into points.
However, the Seawolves weren’t about to stand by and watch Vermont tear them apart. Within another four minutes, Stony Brook, behind the juggernaut of senior Kirsten Jeter (Elmont, N.Y.), would tie the score at 11. Jeter would just about have the team lead in the trifecta of basketball statistics; she tied with sophomore Sam Landers (Springfield, Va.) for the team-lead in points with 13, and she led the Seawolves in assists and rebounds with four and eight, respectively.
Neither team would be able to gain a significant lead for the rest of the half. Perhaps the most notable moment before time expired for the break, with Stony Brook leading 25-24, was the injury to Vermont’s Ashley Hoyt. Hoyt went down just as the buzzer sounded, but she was able to walk off the court on her own power minutes later.
The early goings of the second half favored Stony Brook. With 15:38 left, they led 35-28. Eventual game-leader in points Tonya Young of Vermont also bruised herself after colliding with her own bench. She too was able to get up on her own power.
With only about 10 minutes left, Stony Brook still led, 39-32. But this was when things began to head south for the Seawolves. Within the space of four minutes, Vermont nearly tied the score. Stony Brook only led 44-41, and the crowd was on edge.
But that crowd would be sorely disappointed. The Catamounts would finish on a 27-6 run. There was one stretch of time where Vermont scored 14 straight points to give themselves an 11-point, 55-44 lead. Stony Brook would only score six points for the rest of the game, four of those coming from two late shots from Landers.
Interim head coach Evelyn Thompson declined comment after the game, walking past the media after talking to her team privately in the locker room.
Stony Brook, along with the rest of the America East, took the day to play the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Pink Zone game to raise breast cancer awareness.
Stony Brook will have a shot at redemption when they play at home on Wednesday against the University of New Hampshire at 7 p.m.
