As she came off the court on Saturday afternoon, senior Kirsten Jeter (Elmont, N.Y.) had more to smile about than her strong career at Stony Brook.

By that point in the fourth quarter, Jeter and her teammates on the Stony Brook University women’s basketball team were well on their way to their 54-37 win over the Binghamton Bearcats.

Before the game started, the three seniors on the Seawolves squad were honored for their efforts over the past few years. Jeter, Misha Horsey (Wyncote, Pa.) and Jodie Plikus (Waterford, Conn.) each received a bouquet and a plaque.

Stony Brook perhaps played its best defense all season. Binghamton’s 37 points were the lowest for any Stony Brook opponent this season. It was also only five points more than Binghamton’s lowest total on the season.

“I challenge them on every point,” said interim coach Evelyn Thompson. “They have to play defense throughout, not just 20 minutes. They stepped up to that challenge.”
Binghamton fell out of the game considerably early. The last time that the Bearcats had a lead was with 16:21 left in the first half when they had a 3-2 advantage over the Seawolves. However, a jumper from junior Whitney Davis (Muskegon, Mich.) quickly erased that deficit, and Stony Brook lead for the rest of the game.

Sophomores Sam Landers (Springfield, Va.) and Juanita Cochran (Saginaw, Mich.) led the charge in the first half, scoring 10 and 11 of Stony Brook’s 28 points, respectively.
Cochran would have a team-high in that category at game’s end with 22.

“Sam’s maturity is starting to show,” Thompson said. “She’s blossoming into the player we knew she’d blossom into. It’s a fantastic thing to witness.”

Equally important was junior Tamiel Murray (Teaneck, N.J.), who had eight rebounds and three assists in the first half. Stony Brook as a team would dominate Binghamton in both categories throughout the game.

The Seawolves came out of the locker room on the offensive in the second half, scoring the first seven points before the Bearcats had a chance to respond.

However, the euphoria was short-lived. With 13:33 left in the half, junior Destiny Jacobs (Glen Burnie, Md.) went down with an apparent leg injury. She was not able to walk off on her own power and would not return to the game.

This highlighted the importance of Cochran, who along with sophomore Taylor Burner (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) would have to take up the slack in the inside game.

However, according to Thompson, Cochran’s part in the inside game has been and will continue to increase anyway.

“We wanted to establish the inside game, and she had a big part in that,” Thompson said. “She was just a total beast tonight.”

The closest that the Bearcats would get after Jacob’s injury was 11 points behind with 13:29 to play when Stony Brook had a 38-27 advantage. For the next eight minutes, the Seawolves would go on a 10-2 run to secure a 48-29 lead.

From that point forward, Stony Brook would cruise into victory. They gleefully returned to the locker room for the last time before they head to the America East tournament in Hartford, Conn. The Seawolves are the eighth seed and will play on Thursday in the play-in game.

“This is a building process,” said Thompson. “What I think we’ve built is a team that’s ready to fight. We’re going to keep the faith.”