Dec. 3, 2004

Game 3
Stony Brook (0-2) vs. Pittsburgh (4-0)
December 4, 2004 • 3:00 p.m.
Indoor Sports Complex • Stony Brook, N.Y.

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Today's Match Up
Stony Brook (0-2) opens up its home schedule this afternoon when the Seawolves host Pittsburgh (4-0) in the second game of the Holiday Inn Express Invitational. This will mark the first meeting between the two teams.

Scouting the Panthers
Pittsburgh returns three starters and nine letterwinners from a team that went 6-20 a year ago.

The Panthers, who are off to a 4-0 start, are led by Marcedes Walker, who is averaging 15.3 points and 10.8 boards. Last time out, Pitt topped Robert Morris 78-59 behind Walker's 30 points and 14 rebounds.

Last Time Out
Delaware's Tyresa Smith netted 10 second half points to help the Fightin' Blue Hens open up a 26 point lead midway through the second half as Delaware topped Stony Brook 83-58 on Tuesday. Mykeema Ford led all scorers with 26 points, while Stephanie Barlett added 11. Dana Ferraro chipped in with nine rebounds for the Seawolves.

Seawolves in Home Openers
Stony Brook is 13-10 all-time in home openers, including a 2-3 mark since moving to the Division I level in the 1999-00 season. The Seawolves have dropped their home openers in each of the last two seasons, including a 74-62 loss to St. Bonaventure a year ago.

SB vs. Big East Teams
The Seawolves have collected a 1-5 mark all-time vs. Big East teams, with their only win coming back in 2001 when Stony Brook earned a 65-51 road victory at St. John's.

Ferraro On the Boards
Dana Ferraro had made a huge impact on the boards for the Seawolves through their first two games. The freshman forward, who leads the team with 10.0 rebounds per game, pulled down a game-high 11 boards in SB's season opener at Bradley, while collecting a team-best nine rebounds at Delaware.

Second Half Struggle
Stony Brook was done in by its second half shooting struggles vs. Delaware. SB trailed by as many as 11 in the first half, but managed to cut the lead back to three late in the half. The Seawolves were hurt by poor shooting in the second half, however, as SB connected on just 8-of-21 (38.1 percent) attempts from the field.

Mykeema Ford, who with 21 points was the only player to score more than three points in the second stanza, connected on five of the Seawolves eight field goals, while the rest of the team shot just 3-for-9 in the half.

Barlett Stepping Up
Senior Stephanie Barlett posted her best outing in over a year with her 11-point effort vs. Delaware. The guard, who shot 3-for-5 from downtown for the game, netted eight points in the first half behind a pair of three-pointers.

Ferraro Solid in Game 1
Freshman Dana Ferraro had a solid debut for the Seawolves vs. Bradley. The forward was outstanding on the boards, pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds, while adding eight points, an assist and a block in her first collegiate outing.

Milestones Approaching
Several Seawolves are approaching milestones at the start of the 2004-05 season.

Here is a look at a few of the milestones that could be reached early this season:

Points
200 - Kelly Watson (189)
300 - Stephanie Barlett (284)
400 - Bojana Bogetic (348)
400 - Danyelle Ingram (346)
Rebounds
100 - Inbar Orion (77)
300 - Jessica Smith (258)
300 - Bojana Bogetic (251)
Assists
100 - Danyelle Ingram (83)

Paw Prints
Mykeema Ford scored her 400th career point on Tuesday at Delaware... she now has 408 for her career... Stony Brook has been outrebounded by an average of 13 boards per game in its first two contests... freshman Dana Ferraro leads the team with 10.0 rebounds per game... Mykeema Ford's nine assists vs. Bradley tied her four the fourth-best single-game total in school history... Jessie Boylan set a new career-high with 11 points vs. Bradley, marking the first time the junior has scored in double-figures... Stony Brook's 29 turnovers vs. Bradley were the most since they turned the ball over 32 times vs. Richmond on December 29, 2002.

McHugh at the Helm
Stony Brook welcomes new head coach Maura McHugh to the sidelines this season. McHugh joins the Seawolves after spending two seasons as an assistant and three as the head coach of the Sacramento Monarchs of the WNBA.

McHugh, who has over 24 years of coaching experience at both the college and professional levels, has racked up a 226-154 collegiate record over 13 seasons, including six years at Arizona State and seven at Oklahoma.

Seawolves Selected to Finish Ninth in America East in 2004-05
The Stony Brook women's basketball team was selected to finish ninth in America East in 2004-05, the conference office announced after a vote of the league's 10 head coaches.

Defending conference champion Maine was selected first overall with 72 total votes and five first place votes, followed by Boston University in second (71), Hartford in third (64), Northeastern in fourth (54), Binghamton in fifth (50) and Albany in sixth (47). Rounding out the league's 10 teams were Vermont (seventh, 35), New Hampshire (eighth, 29), Stony Brook (ninth, 18) and UMBC (10th, 10).

Binghamton's Rachel Laws, Boston University's Adrienne Norris, Hartford's Erika Messam, Northeastern's Maralene Zwarich and Albany's Danielle Hutcheson were named to the preseason all-conference team.

Ford, Smith Top Returning Scoring Duo in America East
With a combined 25.0 points per game a year ago, sophomore standouts Mykeema Ford and Jessica Smith make up the top returning scoring duo in America East in 2004-05.

Ford, a 5-8 guard, led the Seawolves and ranked eighth in the league with 13.3 points per game in her freshman campaign.

Smith, a 6-0 forward/center and the 2004 America East Rookie of the Year, ranked second on the team and 12th in the conference with 11.7 points per game a year ago.

Albany's duo of Danielle Hutcheson (12.7 ppg) and Becky Ayres (12.2 ppg) rank second with 24.9 points per game, while Boston University's Becky Bonner (14.1 ppg) and Adrienne Norris (9.8 ppg) and Northeastern's Maralene Zwarich (14.1 ppg) and Francesca Vanin (9.8 ppg) stand tied for third with 23.9 points per outing each.

Four New Faces
Stony Brook secured another solid recruiting class with the addition of freshmen Cheri Davis, Dana Ferraro, Kerry O'Loughlin and Morgan Patrick.

Davis, a 5-7 forward, was an all-state pick and a three-time All-Suffolk County selection out of East Islip High School.

Ferraro, a 6-1 forward, was the Courier News Player of the Year as a senior and finished as Middlesex High School's all-time leading scorer with 1,167 points.

O'Loughlin, a 5-11 guard/forward, was named the 2004 MBCA Central Massachusets Player of the Year after averaging 21 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 62 percent from the field as a senior.

Patrick, a 6-2 forward/center, was an all-county pick after averaging 12 points, 14 boards and four blocks per game in her senior campaign at Burlington Township High School.