Jan. 31, 2002

BACKDROP: After Tuesday's non-conference matchup with Princeton, the Seawolves return to America East play this weekend against New Hampshire and instate rival Albany. The Seawolves face seven of their next nine games on the road after opening conference play with four of five games at home.

ABOUT THE WILDCATS: New Hampshire is coming off a 64-51 loss at Maine on Sunday, ending a season-best four-game winning streak for the Wildcats and dropping them into a tie for third place with BU and Maine in the America East. Senior forward Aubrey Danen led UNH with her fourth double-double of the season, scoring a team-high 13 points to go along with 12 rebounds. Three players average double figures for the Wildcats, with Danen's 11.4 points per game leading the way. Sophomore center Maren Matthias averages 10.6 points per game on the season but has increased that to 13.8 per game in conference play. Senior guard Heidi Plencner adds 10.6 points per game. Matthias hauls down a team-best 6.4 rebounds per game.

ABOUT THE GREAT DANES: Albany is still searching for its first win in conference play, as the Great Danes have dropped their first five America East contests. Before their matchup with Stony Brook, the Great Danes travel to face Binghamton on Thursday. Albany lost to Northeastern, 63-54, on Jan. 26, as the Huskies snapped their six-game losing streak. Freshman center Danielle Hutcheson's 16 points led the way for Albany, which hit just 36 percent from the field in the loss. A 28-8 run by NU gave them a 37-27 halftime advantage, and a nine-minute scoreless stretch for the Danes in the second half led to their 12th loss.

THE SERIES: Stony Brook has never faced New Hampshire, but there is plenty to talk about in the Seawolves/Albany series, which the Great Danes lead 12-11. The two teams split last season as each team won on its home court. In a 83-66 loss on Jan. 13, Sherry Jordan scored 23 points in a game that UA led from the start. The Seawolves avenged their worst loss in two seasons with a 56-54 win in their home season finale on Feb. 17. Jill George's 17 points and eight rebounds helped SBU end a four-game losing streak in the series with the Great Danes.

INJURY UPDATE: Starting point guard Theresa LoParrino has completely recovered from a sprained ankle suffered during practice two weeks ago. Meanwhile, sophomore guard Maggie Triggs has also recovered from a preseason stress fracture and has returned to the rotation. Junior Malica Jibowu has just returned to practice after a knee injury. Freshman Danyelle Ingram is out indefinitely after surgery on a dislocated shoulder, which she reinjured against UPenn on Nov. 30. Danielle Mosley also continues to recuperate from ACL surgery she had in August.

LAST TIME OUT: All but one player who saw action for Stony Brook scored in double-digits as the Seawolves held off Princeton for a 75-63 non-conference victory at the SBU Sports Complex on Tuesday night. Five Seawolves, led by Theresa LoParrino's 16 points, tallied double figures as SBU won its second straight game. Jill George's jumper six minutes into the game gave Stony Brook an 11-5 edge. However, the Tigers outscored Stony Brook 12-2 over the next five minutes, capped off by Allison Cahill's three-pointer, to go ahead 17-13. Princeton was on fire in the first 20 minutes, hitting 11-of-21 shots from the floor. But the Seawolves' 17-9 run the rest of the half gave them a 30-26 edge heading into the lockerroom. The second half was tightly contested for the first nine minutes, but a Danielle DeGiorgio three-pointer with 10:45 remaining ignited a 9-0 run that broke the game open. DeGiorgio's trey stretched Stony Brook's lead to 52-45. Erika Shipley added a jumper and LoParrino nailed two free-throws to give the Seawolves their first double-digit lead of the night. DeGiorgio struck again, this time with a jumper that made the score 58-45 with 9:11 to go. Stony Brook had its biggest lead of the night when DeGiorgio's basket gave them a 69-53 lead at the 3:28 mark, and the Seawolves held off the Tigers to win, 75-63.

HIGH FIVE: A season-high five players out of the six who saw action against Princeton scored in double figures on Tuesday. Theresa LoParrino's 6-of-7 shooting from the line helped her tally a team-high 16 points. Danielle DeGiorgio continued her stellar play, finishing with 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. Jill George earned her sixth double-double of the season with 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, while Sherry Jordan had 13 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals. Sarah Burkett also got in on the action, scoring a season-high 11 points.

D-LIGHTFUL: Sophomore Danielle DeGiorgio has certainly stepped it up the last two games. Heading into the Hartford game on Jan. 26, the forward was averaging 8.9 points and 5.3 boards a game. She exploded for a career-high 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting against the Hawks to go along with eight rebounds in her 40 minutes of playing time. There was no letting up against the Tigers two days later, when DeGiorgio tallied 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting in just 28 minutes. DeGiorgio's 59 percent shooting from the field in the two games combined has helped climb to eighth in the America East in field goal percentage (17-of-69, 47 percent). She is also now averaging double figures for the first time this season with 10.0 points per game.

BOY, GEORGE: Senior Jill George enjoyed one of her best games of late against Princeton, recording her sixth double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds. She also added four assists, playing the entire 40 minutes.

BURKETT STEPS UP: Senior Sarah Burkett has taken it up a notch after starting the last two games. The guard scored a season-high 11 points and connected on 4-of-7 field goals, 2-of-4 from three-point range, against Princeton on Tuesday. Not only that, she recorded three rebounds and two steals in 30 minutes of play.

ON THE REBOUND: The Seawolves outrebounded its opponent for the second straight game, recording a 34-24 advantage on the boards against Princeton. The 10-rebound edge is Stony Brook's third-best effort this season, with a 19-point advantage over St. John's the Seawolves' best performance on the boards. Stony Brook is 7-0 when outrebounding its opponent this year.

SEAWOLVES' STEALTH: The Seawolves hounded Princeton on the defensive end, recording 10 steals against the Tigers. The total marked the first time in eight games the Seawolves had recorded double-digit steals. Stony Brook has tallied 10 or more steals seven times this year, including nine of its first 12 games.

SEAWOLVES STREAK: After two straight setbacks to conference foes Binghamton and Vermont, the Seawolves are back on the winning track with back-to-back victories over Hartford and Princeton. Stony Brook has won eight of its last 10 games after opening the season 3-4.

NEW FACE: Freshman Bojana Bogetic joins the team this semester and should provide a solid presence under the basket. At 6-4, Bogetic brings size and depth to a thin Seawolves roster. Said head coach Trish Roberts: "We're small in the post, and Bojana brings height and we'll have a better rotation. Once she gets in shape and learns the plays, she'll be a contributer for us under the basket." A native of Saronna, Italy, Bogetic averaged 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Pool Commense "A" club team.

NATIONWIDE STATS: Both Jill George and Sherry Jordan have cracked the national statistical categories. In the rankings released Tuesday, George was 25th in rebounds with a 9.9 average. Meanwhile, Sherry Jordan's 3.0 steals per game ranks her 33rd in the nation.

AIR JORDAN: The America East named Sherry Jordan its Player of the Week for the second time this season on Monday. Jordan had an exceptional week to receive the honor, averaging 23.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals in two games last week. In a 71-59 loss to Vermont, Jordan scored a game-high 22 points on 10-of-23 shooting, her second-best effort from the floor this season. She also collected seven rebounds and had two steals against the Catamounts. Jordan followed that up with a game-high 25-point performance against Hartford. Jordan also grabbed 12 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season and shot a season-best 12-of-14 from the free throw line to help Stony Brook seal its fourth conference win.

ON THE CLIMB: Senior Jill George needs just five blocks to become the all-time career leader in Stony Brook history. George has 94 career blocks going into Friday's game with New Hampshire. The all-time leader is Erika Bascom, who collected 98 blocks from 1991-95.

MOVING ON UP: Jill George's 12 rebounds against Hartford gives her 614 in her career, keeping her in fifth-place all-time. Fourth-place might be a tough hurdle, as George needs 102 to move past Erika Bascom, who collected 715 from 1991-95.

SHOOTING EYE: The Seawolves have had a much-improved shooting effort from the floor the last two games. After hitting under 40 percent in the previous three games, the Seawolves hit nearly 45 percent against both Hartford and Princeton. Stony Brook came out on fire against the Hawks, nailing 16-of-30 shots in the first half for 53 percent. Despite a subpar 6-of-21 effort in the second stanza, the Seawolves still managed a 43 percent shooting effort on the day, their best effort in five games. Not only that, SBU nailed 5-of-11 three-point attempts (46 percent), breaking a string of five games in which the Seawolves hit less than 30 percent from behind the arc. Stony Brook continued its hot hand against the Tigers, hitting 28-of-62 from the field for 45 percent. The Seawolves struggled in the first 20 minutes, hitting just 12-of-35 of their shots (34 percent), but bounced back for an outstanding 16-of-27 effort (59 percent) in the second half.

ROAD WARRIORS: With just one win this weekend, Stony Brook will improve upon last year's 2-9 finish on the road. So far this season, the Seawolves are 2-3 in road games and 1-1 at neutral sites. Meanwhile, Stony Brook boasts an 8-2 home slate.

LOOKING AHEAD: After spending much of January in the friendly confines of the SBU Sports Complex, the Seawolves will now have to prove their mettle away from home. Six out of the next seven games are on the road, and the Seawolves have just three more games remaining at home.