The Stony Brook women’s basketball team blew out Wagner 70-45 on Saturday, Dec. 15, increasing their winning streak to 10 games. Now with a 10-1 overall record, the Seawolves are off to their best program start since the team started out 18-1 in the Division II 1986-87 season.

Stony Brook was without their second leading scorer, senior guard Jerell Matthews, due to injury, but had no problem scoring in her absence. Stony Brook bursted out of the gate with a 7-0 run beginning the first quarter and never looked back. The Seawolves continued to build up the lead throughout the game and stretched it out to a game-high 32 points late in the fourth quarter.

One factor for Stony Brook’s success was their dominant and aggressive defense. The Seawolves earned 16 steals and forced Wagner to commit 27 turnovers throughout the game. Stony Brook also controlled the tempo offensively with fluid ball movement, dishing out 18 total assists compared to the Seahawks’ six.

“Overall it was a great team effort,” head coach Caroline McCombs said. “We got 12 players out on the floor today and were able to get 16 points from our bench. We were very solid defensively tonight and when we are good defensively we feed off of each other’s energy and play team basketball.”

Senior guard Shania Johnson was a key contributor for Stony Brook’s offensive success by leading the game with 18 points and four steals. She added on to her national lead in assists with eight, including a behind the back pass to sophomore forward Mckenzie Bushee which gave the Seawolves the 29-17 lead in the second quarter.

Freshman guard Anastasia Warren got her first collegiate start filling in for Matthews, finishing with six points and three steals. Forwards sophomore India Pagan and redshirt-sophomore Oksana Gouchie-Provencher commanded the boards by combining for 16 of the Seawolves’ 29 rebounds. Offensively, Pagan finished with 15 points in her first game back from injury, while Gouchie-Provencher established herself as a dual threat with 10 points and five blocks.  

“I think a lot of those blocks came in a couple possessions,” McCombs said. “Just knocking down shots, rebounding the basketball and being physical while she’s rebounding, it’s been great to see Oksana’s progress.”

Stony Brook hopes to keep the momentum going when they play the Toledo Rockets in Toledo, Ohio on Tuesday, Dec. 18. for their last game before the holiday break. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.