It’s not quite the environment of a team coming off its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth and second-straight America East championship, but that’s the point. The Stony Brook women’s basketball team doesn’t need to be reminded of the expectations on their shoulders this year, because they hold themselves to a higher standard than anyone else.

On April 2, Caroline McCombs announced her departure as head coach of the Stony Brook women’s basketball team, weeks after leading the program to its first America East finals win and first NCAA Tournament appearance.

“We’re going to remember and reflect upon this season because we made history,” head coach Caroline McCombs said in a postgame press conference. “This is for all the women that have worn a Stony Brook jersey before.”

The Stony Brook women’s basketball team, who clinched the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance with an upset of Maine in the America East finals, drew a No. 14 seed when the bracket was unveiled on ESPN on Monday, March 15.