Feb. 14, 2002

Stony Brook, N.Y. - Stony Brook at Hartford Game Notes

Media: listen to the broadcast at www.goseawolves.org

BACKDROP: Stony Brook has stumbled of late, dropping three of its last four games. It doesn't get any easier for the Seawolves, who hit the road for a three-game stretch. SBU faces Hartford and Northeastern this weekend and has a date with Boston University next week.

ABOUT THE HAWKS: Hartford is riding a three-game winning streak into this weekend. The Hawks posted a 74-68 victory over Albany on Monday to keep the Great Danes winless in the America East. Center Kenitra Johnson tallied a game-high 19 points to go along with 10 boards, while forward Janeka Lopp chipped in with 12.

ABOUT THE HUSKIES: Northeastern has suffered two straight 20-point losses to fall to 5-18 overall, 3-9 in the conference. In an 82-62 loss to Maine on Monday, the Huskies shot 48 percent (23-of-48) from the floor, but the Black Bears were accurate from outside as well, connecting on 30-of-56 shots (54 percent). Joi Jefferson led the way for NU with 15 points and six rebounds.

THE SERIES: The Seawolves defeated Hartford 75-66 earlier this season in the first meeting between the two teams. Stony Brook also holds a 1-0 edge over Northeastern with their 63-53 win on Jan. 11.

LAST MEETING WITH THE HAWKS: Danielle DeGiorgio collected a career-high 21 points and also had eight rebounds as Stony Brook snapped a two-game losing streak with a 75-66 win over Hartford on Jan. 26. Sherry Jordan registered her sixth double-double of the season with 25 points and 12 rebounds. The Pack opened the game with a 17-7 run keyed by DeGiorgio's eight points and built its biggest lead of the half at 38-24 on Erika Shipley's free throw with 1:20 left. The Hawks made a run at the Seawolves midway through the second half. A 7-0 run closed an 11-point deficit to four points with 6:40 remaining, making the score 59-55. Janeka Lopp started the run with a three-pointer - part of a team-high 16 points on the day. The Seawolves answered with 10 of the game's next 12 points as five different players contributed to a run that gave them a 69-57 lead with 3:10 remaining. Hartford never got closer than seven points the rest of the way. Angie Pezzetta had 14 points and four rebounds for the Hawks and Kenitra Johnson collected 10 points and 11 boards.

LAST MEETING WITH THE HUSKIES: Stony Brook used a 9-0 run to take the lead for good as the Seawolves defeated Northeastern, 63-53, on Jan. 11. The Huskies connected on just 8-of-26 shots in a sluggish first half, while Stony Brook wasn't much better with 10-of-30 shooting. The Seawolves opened the game with an 11-4 spurt, but NU went on a 8-0 run over the next four minutes to take a one-point lead midway through the first half. The game remained close the rest of the half, but a Jill George layup with just a minute left before the break gave Stony Brook the lead for good at 24-23. SBU scored the first five points of the second half to stretch the lead to 31-23 with 18:54 remaining. After shooting just 33.3 percent in the first 20 minutes, the Seawolves hit 13-of-23 shots (56.5 percent) in the second half while limiting the Huskies to just 11-of-29 shooting (37.9 percent). Stony Brook led by as many as 14, when two free throws by George gave them a 63-49 advantage with just 54 ticks on the clock. George and Danielle DeGiorgio teamed up with a double-double apiece to lead the Seawolves to their fifth straight win and seventh in the last eight games. George recorded a season-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting and 11 rebounds to lead all scorers. DeGiorgio chipped in with 12 points and 10 boards, while Sherry Jordan had 11 points and seven rebounds. Senior Jennifer Metz, who made her fifth career start and played a career-high 35 minutes, scored seven points and had a career-high six assists against just one turnover. Three players scored in double figures for Northeastern with Joi Jefferson's 19 points leading the way. Francesca Vanin and Melissa Kowalski chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

INJURY UPDATE: Although Stony Brook has battled injuries all season, things are finally looking up for the Seawolves in terms of bench personnel. Sarah Burkett, Danyelle Ingram, Sherry Jordan, Malica Jibowu, Theresa LoParrino, Danielle Mosley, Erika Shipley and Maggie Triggs have all had their share of the injury bug, but just about everyone has returned to action. Ingram, who separated her shoulder on Nov. 30, will miss the rest of the season as she recuperates from surgery. Mosley also continues to undergo rehab from an ACL injury.

LAST TIME OUT: New Hampshire scored the game's final 10 points to earn a 63-60 come-from-behind victory over Stony Brook at the SBU Sports Complex on Tuesday night. Sherry Jordan's layup with 4:09 left on the clock gave the Seawolves a 60-53 edge. However, the Seawolves missed their final three shots and turned the ball over four times. Meanwhile, the Wildcats' Maren Matthias scored seven straight points to even the game at 60-60 with just under two minutes left. Aubrey Danen's three-point play with 21 ticks on the clock gave UNH the lead for good, as Theresa LoParrino missed a three-point attempt at the buzzer. The Seawolves opened the game with a 12-5 run in the first six minutes. But New Hampshire scored seven straight to even the game for the first time. Stony Brook held a 30-29 lead at the break and led by as many as eight in the second stanza. After Bojana Bogetic's layup gave SBU a 49-41 edge with 10:44 left, UNH outscored the Seawolves 9-4 over the next three minutes. The Seawolves countered with a run of their own, scoring seven of the game's next 10 points to stretch the lead to 60-53 with 4:09 left. However, the Seawolves went cold after that as New Hampshire's final run sealed the Wildcats' seventh conference victory. The teams were even statistically, as the Wildcats were 24-of-58 from the floor and the Seawolves were 23-of-56. In addition, UNH outrebounded Stony Brook by just one, 38-37. Danen tallied a game-high 25 points and had seven boards, while Matthias scored 13 with eight rebounds. Erika Shipley led the way for Stony Brook with 19 points, while Jordan finished with 14 points and nine rebounds.

LOSING THE LEAD: In the Seawolves' past two losses, they have held a substantial lead in the second half only to see the opposing team come back and win. Stony Brook held a seven-point lead with four minutes to go against UNH, but the Wildcats scored the game's final 10 points to earn the win. Against Maine on Feb. 9, Stony Brook was even more in control, stretching its lead to as many as 19 points in the first half. Maine chipped away, but the Seawolves still led by 15 two minutes into the second half. The Black Bears' 26-11 run over the next 11 minutes evened the game at 55-55. Maine then went on a 12-2 tear and the Seawolves could never recover.

DOWN TO THE WIRE: Tuesday's three-point loss was the narrowest margin of defeat for Stony Brook this season. The Seawolves' other eight losses have been by eight points or more. On the other hand, the Seawolves have won all their games by at least seven points.

NO CHARITY: The Wildcats won Tuesday's game despite making just 12-of-26 free throws (46 percent). Stony Brook had just 11 attempts, connecting on eight (72 percent).

BREAKING EVEN: New Hampshire and Stony Brook were virtually even statistically, with each team hitting 41 percent from the floor. The Wildcats hit 24-of-58 shots, while SBU was 23-of-56. UNH outrebounded the Seawolves by just one, 38-37. Although Stony Brook had six three-pointers compared to just three for the Wildcats, New Hampshire made 12 free throws (26 attempts) while SBU was 8-of-11.

STREAKS: Stony Brook's wins and losses this season have seemed to come in bunches. SBU opened the season 1-4, but then the Seawolves won eight of their next nine games. Since then, SBU has gone 3-5, including three setbacks on the road.

THREES A CROWD: Despite losing their last two games, the Seawolves have stepped it up from behind the three-point arc. In the Maine contest, Stony Brook connected on 8-of-14 treys (57 percent). All eight baskets came in the second half. The Seawolves continued their hot hand against the Wildcats, drilling 6-of-13 threes (46 percent).

SHIP RETURNS: After four straight games in which she failed to score in double figures, it seems as though Erika Shipley has returned to her mid-season form. The senior has scored in double figures the past three games, topped off with a 19-point outing against New Hampshire on Tuesday. Shipley blistered the nets for 6-of-9 shooting, including a career-high 4-of-5 from behind the arc. In the Seawolves' previous game against Maine, she was one of four Seawolves in double figures with 12 points. She also dished six assists and grabbed five rebounds.

MEET THE METZ: Once again, Jennifer Metz provided a spark for the Seawolves against New Hampshire. The senior came off the bench to score a career-high nine points on 4-of-5 shooting in just 17 minutes of action. Metz, who played just 31 minutes all of last year, has seen action in 19 games this year with five starts. The forward averages 3.7 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.

BY GEORGE SHE'S GOT IT: Senior Jill George swatted three shots against Maine to give her 100 career blocks, the all-time high in Stony Brook's women's basketball history. George bested the old record of 98, held by Erika Bascom who recorded that total from 1991-95. George leads the America East with 1.3 blocks per game.

JEKYLL AND HYDE: The Seawolves were two different teams against Maine last weekend. In the first half, Stony Brook scorched the Black Bears with 15-of-28 shooting (54 percent), including 8-of-12 (67 percent) from behind the three-point arc. Both were season-highs. Meanwhile, Maine struggled, hitting just 38 percent (13-of-34) from the floor. The second half turned out to be the complete opposite. The Seawolves managed just seven field goals in 23 attempts, while Maine connected on 17-of-31 shots (54 percent). The Black Bears' hot shooting helped them erase an 11-point halftime deficit and outscore SBU 46-21 in the second 20 minutes. The turnaround is the biggest the Seawolves have suffered this season.rdan 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.