Dec. 6, 2004

Game 5
Stony Brook (0-4) vs. Providence (0-6)
December 7, 2004 • 7:30 p.m.
Alumni Hall • Providence, R.I.

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Today's Match Up
Stony Brook (0-4) will look for its first win of the season when the Seawolves hit the road to take on Providence (0-6) this evening. This will mark the second all-time meeting between the two teams, with the Friars taking last year's contest 59-57.

Scouting the Friars
Providence returns three starters and four letterwinners from a team that went 4-23 a year ago.

The Friars, who are still looking for their first win of the season, are led by Shauna Snyder, who is averaging 14.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.

Last Time Out
Petra Glaser scored 27 points and Jayme Connors added 18 as Long Beach State outlasted Stony Brook, 88-82, in the final game of the Holiday Inn Express Invitational on Sunday. Jessica Smith led SB with 21 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Mykeema Ford chipped in with 18 points and eight assists, while Kelly Watson added 11 points.

SB vs. Big East Teams
With their loss to Pittsburgh on Dec. 4, the Seawolves have collected a 1-6 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.

Offensive Turn-Around
Stony Brook has picked up its offensive output over the past two games. The Seawolves entered the weekend averaging 59.0 points, 11.5 assists and 4.0 three point field goals per game, while shooting .389 from the field and .276 from the three point line. After its two contests vs. Pittsburgh and Long Beach State, however, SB is now averaging 71.5 points, 15.0 assists and 6.0 three point field goals while shooting .441 from the field and .333 from downtown.

The Seawolves, who were previously ranked last in America East in scoring offense, jumped to first place after netting 86 points vs. Pitt and 82 vs. Long Beach St.

Mykeema Named America east Co-Player of the Week
Mykeema Ford was named the Wilson Co-Player of the Week for the week ending Dec. 5. The sophomore guard averaged 22.7 points and 5.7 assists per game in three outings last week after collecting a season-high 26 points at Delaware, 24 points and seven assists vs. Pittsburgh and 18 points and eight assists vs. Long Beach State.

Smith Breaking Through
After netting just 13 points in Stony Brook's first two contests, Jessica Smith finally broke through in the Holiday Inn Express Invitational.

In the tourney opener vs. Pittsburgh, Smith netted 22 points after shooting 7-for-10 from the field and 8-for-9 from the free throw line. She followed that performance by recording 21 points, 14 rebounds and four assists vs. Long Beach State.

For the season, the sophomore is averaging 14.0 points and 7.0 boards while shooting .556 (20-of-36) from the field and .800 (16-for-20) from the free throw line.

Boylan Heating Up
Senior Jessie Boylan has quietly made her presence felt off the Stony Brook bench in the Seawolves first four outings this season. Boylan, who is averaging 7.3 points per game, nearly triple her career average of 2.5, has scored in double figures twice in four games, a feat she had not accomplished once before this season.

Keep It Comin' Keema
Mykeema Ford has been outstanding for the Seawolves in their last three outings. The sophomore is averaging 22.7 points after netting 26 points vs. Delaware, 24 vs. Pittsburgh and 18 vs. Long Beach State.

Ford, who started off the season shooting just .316 (12-for-38) in SB's first two outings, responded with her best shooting performance so far this year against Pitt, hitting 8-of-18 (.444) shots from the field.

On the season, Ford in averaging a team-best 19.5 points and 6.5 assists while also chipping in with 3.5 rebounds per outing.

Ferraro On the Boards
Dana Ferraro has made a huge impact on the boards for the Seawolves through their first four games. The freshman forward, who ranks second on the team with 7.3 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.

League Leaders
Several Seawolves rank among the America East leaders in games played through December 5.

Mykeema Ford leads the league with 19.5 points and 6.5 assists per game, while ranking tied for fifth with 2.25 three pointers per game and 10th with a 1.24 assist/turnover ratio. Jessica Smith stands tied for sixth in scoring (14.0 ppg), fourth in field goal percentage (.556) and tied for sixth in rebounding (7.0 rpg), while Inbar Orion is first in field goal percentage (.652) and Stephanie Barlett ranks fifth in three point field goal percentage (.500). Dana Ferraro stands fifth in rebounding (7.2) and tied for second in defensive rebounds (5.0).

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
300 - Stephanie Barlett (297)
400 - Jessica Smith (384)
400 - Bojana Bogetic (348)
400 - Danyelle Ingram (346)
500 - Mykeema Ford (450)
Rebounds
100 - Inbar Orion (85)
300 - Jessica Smith (279)
300 - Bojana Bogetic (251)
Assists
100 - Danyelle Ingram (83)
100 - Mykeema Ford (72)

Paw Prints
Mykeema Ford scored her 400th career point on Tuesday at Delaware... Mykeema Ford's nine assists vs. Bradley (11/21) tied her four the fourth-best single-game total in school history, while her eight helpers vs. Long Beach State (12/5) rank her tied for ninth at the school... 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.

Seawolves in Home Openers
With their heartbreaking 89-86 loss to Pittsburgh on Dec. 4, Stony Brook is 13-11 all-time in home openers, including a 2-4 mark since moving to the Division I level in the 1999-00 season. The Seawolves have now lost three straight home openers.

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 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.