Jan. 16, 2003

BACKDROP: Stony Brook, which has lost five of its last six games, hopes to bounce back on the road as the Seawolves face intrastate rival Albany on Saturday. The Great Danes come into the matchup looking for their first America East victory in their conference home opener.

ABOUT THE GREAT DANES: Albany, who has dropped four straight, comes off a 61-48 loss to Vermont as the Danes remain winless in conference play. The Catamounts' Katie McNamara scored 12 of her 18 points in the first half as Vermont built a 31-23 halftime lead. A 7-0 Albany run cut the deficit to 33-30 with 18:01 remaining, but Vermont then went on a 16-4 run to break the contest open. The Catamounts went on to lead by as many as 22. Leading scorer Jess McGinlay was held to just seven points, nearly eight below her average of 15.7. Two other Great Danes average double figures with center Danielle Hutcheson scoring 13.4 and guard Kathryn Hemlock scoring at a 10.6 per game clip.

SERIES HISTORY: Stony Brook, winners of the last three meetings with Albany, leads the all-time series 13-12. The Seawolves swept Albany in America East play last season.

LAST MEETING - Feb. 24, 2002: Stony Brook used a 14-0 spurt in the first half to take control and go on to a 70-58 victory over Albany at the SBU Sports Complex and hand Albany its 14th straight loss. Albany pulled ahead 10-9 on two free throws by Sarah Sweetland with 11:23 remaining in the first period. However, the Seawolves (14-11, 7-7 America East) responded with 14 unanswered points, stretching their lead to 23-10 at the 5:26 mark. Sherry Jordan, who finished with a game-high 23 points, had eight during the run. The Seawolves led by as many as 21 in the second stanza. The Stony Brook defense was the difference, as SBU forced 26 turnovers and finished the game with a season-high 16 steals. Jordan grabbed nine rebounds and recorded three steals and two assists to go along with her 23 points. Erika Shipley added 16 points, five steals and three assists, while DeGiorgio had 11 points. Sarah Burkett chipped in with 10 points and six assists.

INJURY UPDATE: Theresa LoParrino, who missed the final six games in 2001-02 with an ACL injury, is still out of action. After briefly returning to practice and seeing limited action against Wright State on Nov. 26, LoParrino injured her healthy leg, which was revealed to be multiple stress fractures. She has been undergoing rehabilitation for about seven weeks and could return at the end of the month. The Seawolves have also taken a hit in the post, with both Meghan Barrett and Malica Jibowu suffering injuries. Barrett has not practiced since the team's return from Colorado on Dec. 30 due to soreness in her ankles and will not be available for today's game. Meanwhile, Jibowu suffered a knee injury during practice last week and has not returned. She is awaiting results of an MRI taken this week.

LAST TIME OUT: Boston University used a 26-8 run in the second half to hand Stony Brook an 88-76 loss at the SBU Sports Complex on Wednesday evening. BU outscored the Seawolves 51-30 in the second half and shot a blistering 62 percent (18-of-29) from the floor, including 5-of-11 three-pointers. The Terriers held the lead through the first 10 minutes of the game, but five straight points by Stephanie Barlett put the Seawolves in front, 25-22, with 9:22 before the break. The Seawolves led by as many as 11 on a Barlett three with 30 seconds remaining in the half. Five Terriers and five Seawolves tallied double figures in the game. Katie Terhune recorded a game-high 18, while Sherry Jordan and Kelly McManus each scored 15 for the Seawolves.

SEAWOLVES STREAKS: Despite leading by as many as 12 against the Terriers, Stony Brook saw their lead quickly erased and the Seawolves could not recover. Kelly McManus' three-pointer with 18:37 remaining in the game gave the Seawolves their largest lead of the night at 51-39. But then Stony Brook went scoreless for nearly four minutes, and the Terriers scored 11 straight points to climb within one, 51-50, at 15:08. Layups by Sherry Jordan and Danyelle Ingram extended the lead back to five, but the Seawolves again went cold as BU outscored them 9-2 over the next four minutes. Rachael Vanderwal's layup with 10:56 left put the Terriers in front for good, giving them their first lead since the 11:09 mark of the first half. Overall, it amounted to a 26-8 BU run that Stony Brook could not counter.

HALF EFFORT: Stony Brook could not hold on to a nine-point halftime lead against the Terriers, eventually losing by 12. The Seawolves were outstanding in the first 20 minutes, shooting 50 percent (15-of-30) from the floor and nailing all 13 of their free throws. Stony Brook also recorded 14 assists and nine steals and turned the ball over just 11 times. However, it was the Terriers who bounced back to dominate the second half with 62 percent shooting, including drilling 5-of-11 three-pointers. BU scored 31 points in the second 20 minutes compared to just 30 for the Seawolves.

TAKING CHARITY: Despite the loss to BU, the Seawolves enjoyed their best performance at the free throw line, hitting 18-of-19 for 94.7 percent. On the season, Stony Brook has improved to 68 percent from the line.

HIGH FIVE: A season-high five players recorded double figures against BU on Wednesday, led by 15 each from Sherry Jordan and Kelly McManus. Stephanie Barlett and Bojana Bogetic added 13 points apiece, while Danyelle Ingram chipped in with 12.

LOW FIVE: With just eight healthy players, the Seawolves struggled with foul trouble for the second straight game. Both Kelly McManus and Bojana Bogetic fouled out against BU. In Stony Brook's previous game against Binghamton, Sherry Jordan fouled out and three others finished with four fouls.

ANOTHER SEASON HIGH: Not only did the Seawolves enjoy their best effort of the year at the free throw line against BU, they also dished out a season-high 19 assists with 11 coming in the first half. Stony Brook has greatly improved in that area, recording double digit assists in five of the last six games. In their first eight games, the Seawolves collected more than nine assists on just one occasion.

STEALTHY SEAWOLVES: Stony Brook's 12 steals against BU marked the eighth time this year that the Seawolves have forced their opponent into at least 10 miscues. Stony Brook recorded a season-high 16 steals against Brown on Jan. 5 and average 9.8 per game. Despite the impressive numbers, the Seawolves have won only one game in which they have stolen the ball 10 or more times. Last season, the Seawolves collected 10 or more steals on 13 occasions, winning 11 of those contests.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Wednesday's game marked the only home contest in the Seawolves' first five games in America East Conference play. Stony Brook hopes to close the opening five-game swing on a high note this week, facing Albany on Saturday and Northeastern on Wednesday.

FAMILIAR FACE, FAMILIAR RESULTS: Sherry Jordan, who started 28 of 30 games last year, missed the first eight games of 2002-03 and returned against Colorado State on Dec. 28. Since then, she has scored in double figures in five of six games, led the Seawolves in scoring three times and started the last three contests. She enjoyed her best performance against Hartford on Jan. 18, scoring a season-high 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting and equalling her career-high of 15 boards.

JORDAN WATCH: Sherry Jordan's 15 points against BU gave her a tie for ninth on the all-time scoring list. Jordan's 1,072 career points equals the amount scored by Donna Fennessey from 1994-98. She needs 54 points to pass No. 8 Agnes Ferro, who totaled 1,125 points from 1979-83.