Dec. 5, 2001
BACKDROP: The Seawolves come off two big victories last weekend, winning their own Holiday Inn Express Tournament by defeating Pennsylvania and Loyola Marymount, teams that both advanced to postseason play last year. The opposition doesn't get any easier this weekend as Stony Brook travels to the Georgia State Tournament to take on the host Lady Panthers.
ABOUT THE LADY PANTHERS: Georgia State (1-2, 0-1 Atlantic Sun Conference) has dropped two straight after winning its opener. After losing by just 10 at 11th-ranked Georgia on Nov. 27, GSU dropped an 87-85 loss to Belmont on Monday in the ASUN opener for both teams. Angelina Miller scored a game-high 19 points, while Marica Maddox and Evita Rogers added 17 each. Freshman Patechia Hartman chipped in with 13 off the bench for GSU. Five Lady Panthers are averaging in double figures led by Miller's 19.3 a game.
ABOUT THE LADY PIRATES: Hampton (4-2, 2-0 Mideastern Athletic Conference) defeated Coppin State, 72-61, on Monday for its second straight win. Four Pirates scored in double figures led by senior guard Lineni Noa's 19 points, seven steals and six assists. Noa leads Hampton with 17.0 points per game, while junior guard Lashondra Dixon contributes 16.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
ABOUT THE LADY HORNETS: Alabama State (1-2, 0-0 Southwest Athletic Conference) was coming off two straight setbacks heading into a Wednesday game against Alabama. Senior guard Nicole Miller led ASU in scoring in both of those contests. Center Crystal Kitt leads the Lady Hornets with 16.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, while forward Shameka Joackson contributes 13.0 points per game.
THE SERIES: Stony Brook has never faced any of this weekend's teams.
BIG DANCE TEST: Georgia State is the third team Stony Brook will face this season that advanced to last year's NCAA Tournament. St. Mary's handed SBU a 73-46 loss, while the Seawolves defeated 2001 tournament participant Pennsylvania last weekend. The Seawolves also beat 2001 NIT qualifier Loyola Marymount, showing that this year's schedule is the most competitive since Stony Brook joined the ranks of Division I.
GEORGIA HOMECOMING: This weekend's tournament marks a special event for Stony Brook--the first time standout sophomore Sherry Jordan has returned to her hometown as a Seawof. At Clarkston High School in Stone Mountain, Ga., Jordan recorded 1,554 points and 1,118 rebounds during her career. She was named to the Metro-Atlanta Girls Prep Team of the Year and also received All-County Player of the Year honors. From her performance last weekend, it seems certain Jordan will not disappoint the hometown folks. In addition, head coach Trish Roberts and assistant coach Silver Shellman are both natives of nearby Monroe, Ga., while freshman Danyelle Ingram is also a Stone Mountain native.
LAST TIME OUT: The Seawolves captured the HIE Invitational title last weekend with victories over UPenn, 77-56, and Loyola Marymount, 67-61. Sherry Jordan erupted for 30 points on 13-of-23 shooting, 11 rebounds and seven steals and Theresa LoParrino had a season-high 22 to lead the Seawolves to their first-round win over the Quakers. Jordan scored 20 of her points in the second half, including eight in a key run that gave the Seawolves the lead for good. LoParrino had her best offensive output of the season, hitting 5-of-8 three pointers en route to her 22 points. Stony Brook also held a 39-27 advantage on the boards. Jordan and Danielle DeGiorgio teamed up to post double-doubles in Stony Brook's championship win over LMU. A 16-6 second-half run broke a 49-49 tie and the Seawolves coasted to their second straight HIE title. LoParrino scored 16 of her game-high 19 points in the opening half as Stony Brook held LMU to just 10-of-31 from the field and 1-of-7 from three-point range in the first 20 minutes. Jordan finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds and three assists while DeGiorgio had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
HIE HONORS: Sherry Jordan and Theresa LoParrino each received HIE Tournament honors after their performances in both games. Jordan's two double-doubles and 30-point effort against UPenn led to her second straight HIE Tournament Most Valuable Player Award. LoParrino was named to the All-Tournament Team for the second straight year as well.
JORDAN NAMED PLAYER OF WEEK: Sherry Jordan was named America East Conference Player of the Week after her MVP performance in the Seawolves' HIE Tournament last weekend. Her 16.8 points per game and 21 steals in six games lead the team, while her 8.3 rebounds per game is second-best. Binghamton's Leah Truncale shared America East Player of the Week honors with Jordan.
JORDAN ADDS RECORD: Sherry Jordan's 30-point performance against Penn tied the sixth-best individual game effort in Stony Brook women's basketball history. Jordan already holds single-game records for the fourth- and fifth-most points in a game with 32 and 31, respectively, both set last season. Jordan has scored 581 career points just six games into her sophomore season.
T. LO: Theresa LoParrino broke out of her scoring slump in a big way this past weekend. LoParrino led Stony Brook with 20 points in the opener against Rider, but struggled from the field the next three games. LoParrino connected on just 8-of-49 field goals against LIU, St. Mary's and James Madison. But the sophomore got her touch back against UPenn, torching the Quakers for 22 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including a career-high 5-of-8 from three-point range. LoParrino lit up LMU for 19 points to lead all scorers in the title game. Her 13.7 points per game is second only to Sherry Jordan's 16.8 per game.
INJURY UPDATE: There is good news and bad news in the saga that is the Stony Brook injury report. A positive note is that junior transfer Malica Jibowu returned to practice this week after missing the entire preseason with an ACL injury suffered in early October. On the other hand, freshman Danyelle Ingram is out indefinitely after she reinjured her shoulder in Friday's game. Ingram had just started playing in California after recuperating from a dislocated shoulder. Ingram's is just the latest in a series of injuries for the Seawolves. Maggie Triggs remains out for six to eight weeks with a stress fracture in her foot, while Danielle Moseley continues to recuperate from ACL surgery she had in August.
TENACIOUS D: Sophomore Danielle DeGiorgio recorded the first double-double of her career with her 12 points and 10 rebounds against Loyola Marymount in just 27 minutes.
GETTING THE EYE BACK: After shooting 46 percent in the season opener against Rider, the Seawolves suffered from the field in their next three games, including shooting a season-low 26 percent against St. Mary's, making just 18-of-69 shots. But Stony Brook bounced back this weekend, connecting on 27-of-60 (45.0 percent) against UPenn. The Seawolves struggled in the first half against LMU, but then hit 14-of-31 (45.2 percent) in the second stanza.
WORKING OVERTIME: Since injuries have thinned Stony Brook's bench, playing time for many Seawolves has increased even more. Just seven players saw action against LMU, with Sherry Jordan, Jill George and Theresa LoParrino playing the entire 40 minutes.
E FOR EFFORT: Erika Shipley enjoyed her best scoring effort of the season against LMU with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field. She also added 4-of-7 free throws, all within the final minute of play, that helped the Seawolves hold off the Lions for the HIE trophy.
THE LIONS' ROAR: Stony Brook's victory in the HIE championship game came against a team that has received votes in the Top 25 poll for the past two weeks. Not only that, Loyola Marymount, which stands at 5-2 on the season, defeated 25th-ranked Arizona State earlier this year.
MEET THE METZ: Senior Jennifer Metz has enjoyed a lot of firsts so far this season. After playing just 31 minutes all of last season, the senior walk-on has played in all six games, starting three and logging 114 minutes. She earned her first career start against JMU last weekend, scoring six points with four rebounds. She set career-highs in both points (8) and rebounds (4) against LIU on Nov. 20. Not bad for someone who came into this season with nine career points in two seasons with Stony Brook.
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: The Seawolves improved their ball-handling against UPenn and LMU last weekend. Stony Brook recorded just 12 assists and turned the ball over 44 times in two games at the St. Mary's Tournament. However, the Seawolves totaled 18 assists this past weekend while turning the ball over 34 times, including a season-low 13 against LMU.
STEALTHY SEAWOLVES: Stony Brook's defense was a big reason why the Seawolves won the HIE Tournament, as SBU stole the ball 11 times against UPenn and a season-high 13 against LMU. Sherry Jordan led the team in thievery in both games, recording seven steals against Penn and five against the Lions.
