The Stony Brook women’s basketball team secured their 18th straight victory in dominating fashion, winning 66-49 over the UMBC Retrievers on Saturday, Feb. 1. The win extends the second-longest winning streak in the nation — trailing only the Gonzaga Bulldogs — and also clinched an America East playoff berth.
The Seawolves got off to a cold start, falling behind early on a pair of three-pointers. The Retrievers pushed their lead to as much as six in the first quarter, but a 7-0 Seawolves run closed the gap and briefly gave the team the lead.
Stony Brook only held the lead for a moment in the first, but they broke away for good in the second. Junior forward India Pagan led the charge, scoring 10 of the team’s 20 points in the quarter. Stony Brook ended the half on the 13-0 run, burying UMBC and giving themselves a lead that they were able to cruise on for the remainder of the game.
The second half saw neither team able to get much separation. The Retrievers gained a slight advantage in the third quarter, outscoring the Seawolves 15-12, but couldn’t create enough stops on defense to get back into the game. The Seawolves finished out strong in the fourth, scoring 19 to keep the game out of hand.
Pagan led the team with 16 points off of 8-14 shooting, while graduate forward Cheyenne Clark added 14 points off of 6-8 shooting. Graduate guard Kaela Hilaire’s team-leading eight assists kept the offense rolling, and the team continued their nationally-recognized stretch of dominance.
“Today was an important game for us as we head down the final stretch of conference play,” Clark said in a press release. “Playing on the road is tough, but we had contributions across the board to help us get the win.”
The team will come home on Feb. 5 to defend Island Federal Credit Union Arena against the visiting UMass Lowell River Hawks, and head coach Caroline McCombs and the team are ready to prepare for their next opponent.
“Obviously our focus today has been UMBC,” McCombs said in the press release. “So we’ll head back and watch that film again and get right back at it on Wednesday.”
