Jan. 9, 2003

BACKDROP: Stony Brook hopes to continue its solid start in America East Conference play when the Seawolves face upstate rival Binghamton on Saturday. The Seawolves avenged last year's loss in the America East championship to Hartford with a nail-biting 58-57 victory over the Hawks in West Hartford on Wednesday in the conference opener for both teams. The win snapped a three-game skid for Stony Brook. Saturday's game marks Binghamton's first America East contest.

ABOUT THE BEARCATS: Binghamton dropped a 66-49 decision to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the Bearcats' last outing on Jan. 5. Corpus Christi extended a four-point halftime lead by holding the Bearcats to just seven second-half field goals. Binghamton hit just 7-of-26 from the floor (27 percent) over the final 20 minutes, and shot just 36 percent for the game. Junior center Nicole Dypolt scored a team-high nine points and pulled down eight rebounds, while freshman guard Rachel Laws added eight points and six rebounds. Freshman guard Jennifer Blues, who has started all nine games, averages a team-high 12.3 points per game.

SERIES HISTORY: Binghamton leads the all-time series 7-4 and has won the last three meetings. The Bearcats are 2-0 against Stony Brook in America East play, with 61-50 and 63-50 victories last season.

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 almost six 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 on Saturday. Meanwhile, Jibowu suffered a knee injury during practice on Thursday and could be questionable for Saturday's game.

LAST TIME OUT: After seeing a double-digit second half lead disappear, Stony Brook held on for a 58-57 victory over Hartford in its America East opener. The Hawks had a chance to win the game in the final seconds but freshman Jenna Gale missed a shot from the left wing as time expired. Stony Brook had the momentum early, building its largest lead at 29-16 on a Danyelle Ingram layup with 2:45 before halftime. But Hartford scored the final nine points of the half to pull within four. The Seawolves extended the lead back to 10 in the second half, but Hartford sliced the lead to three by scoring seven unanswered points. The Hawks evened the score twice, the final time at 52-52 with less than five minutes remaining, but could never pull ahead. Anne Whalen's three-pointer cut the lead to two points at 58-56, and Danielle Wexler was fouled with 40 seconds remaining but could only manage one of two free throws for the final score.

SWEET REVENGE: Stony Brook's win over Hartford slightly eased the pain of last year's heartbreaking three-point loss in the America East Tournament final to the Hawks. Both teams were drastically different, with a combined 12 players missing from last year's game. The Seawolves' lineup on Wednesday featured just two starters from the championship, while just one starter returned for Hartford.

CONFERENCE OPENERS: With Wednesday's win, the Seawolves have won both of their America East Conference openers since becoming a member. Last year, the Seawolves won their first three conference games before suffering a loss.

DYNAMITE DeGIORGIO: Danielle DeGiorgio came up big for the Seawolves in Wednesday's game. When the Hawks had whittled the Stony Brook lead to just three by scoring seven straight points, DeGiorgio's three-point play put the Seawolves back in front by six with 9:01 remaining. But the pesky Hawks wouldn't go away, tying the game at 52-52 with just under five minutes left. DeGiorgio responded with a jumper to give Stony Brook the lead for good. She finished with 19 points, her second-best effort of the season, and grabbed six boards. Her 9-of-15 shooting marked a season-best performance.

FAMILIAR FACE IN STARTING FIVE: Sherry Jordan got the starting nod for the first time since last season against the Hawks on Wednesday. Jordan, who started 28 of 30 games last year, missed the first eight games of 2002-03 but has played in four straight and led the team in scoring in three of those games. Against Hartford, she scored 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting and equaled her career-high of 15 boards. In four games this season, Jordan is averaging team-highs of 14.0 points and 8.0 rebounds.

INGRAM GETS IN THE SWING: Danyelle Ingram netted 12 points for the Seawolves on Wednesday, marking her first double-digit outing in three games. The sophomore had scored 12 or more points in a four-game stretch in December, but had managed just 14 in Stony Brook's two games before the Hartford matchup. Ingram also grabbed six rebounds against the Hawks.

IN THE POST: Stony Brook has been hampered by poor post play in recent games, but that was not the case against Hartford. With the Hawks having only one starter over 5-9, the Seawolves dominated the paint, scoring 30 points to Hartford's eight. Stony Brook's post players combined for 43 of the Seawolves' 58 points.

OFF THE GLASS: Stony Brook recorded its most decisive edge on the boards all year in the Seawolves' victory over Hartford. Stony Brook finished with 48 rebounds compared to just 28 for the Hawks. Sherry Jordan collected a game-high 15 to lead the way. Stony Brook has outrebounded its opponent in seven of 12 games this year, going 3-4 in those contests.

JORDAN WATCH: Sherry Jordan's 16 points against Hartford helped her surpass Erika Bascom on the 1,000-point scoring list to grab the No. 10 spot. Jordan, who has scored 1,048 points up to this point, exceeded Bascom's total of 1,041 from 1991-95. She needs 25 points to take the No. 9 spot away from Donna Fennessey, who scored 1,072 points from 1994-98.

McMANUS EARNS HONORS: Freshman Kelly McManus was named Stony Brook's Athlete of the Week on Jan.6 after a stellar performance against Brown. McManus scorched the Bears for 18 points, 16 in the first half alone. McManus drilled 4-of-5 three-point shots, all in the first half, to lead the Seawolves to an early lead. Her six field goals, six boards and 18 points all marked career-highs.

THREAT FROM THREE: Kelly McManus has become a solid threat from three-point range in recent games. Before Wednesday's game at Hartford, she had connected on 9-of-18 attempts (50 percent) from beyond the arc. On the season, she is shooting 41 percent (13-of-32) on three-pointers to lead the team. Her 13 treys is second only to Stephanie Barlett's 28.

JORDAN STRIKES AGAIN: After missing the first eight games of the season, junior Sherry Jordan has started to make up for lost time during the last four games. She scored 12 points in just 13 minutes in her first game against Colorado State. On Jan. 5 against Brown, she recorded season-highs of 16 points, eight rebounds and five steals. Jordan enjoyed her best effort yet against Hartford, scoring 16 points and tying her career-high of 15 rebounds. Jordan, who is the only Seawolf averaging double figures, has played an average of 27.8 minutes and leads the Seawolves in scoring with a 14.0 per game clip.

AT THE HALF: Stony Brook has led at halftime three times this season, winning two of those contests. Stony Brook led Hartford at the break, 29-25, and had a 25-20 lead over Morgan State in an evenutal 14-point victory. Stony Brook's only loss in those three games came against Brown, who sliced an 11-point first half lead sliced to three at the break at the break. The Bears ended up winning, 85-76.

LOOKING AHEAD: The Seawolves return home to face Boston University before back-to-back road games at Albany and Northeastern.