Jan. 28, 2005
Game 17
Stony Brook (4-12, 2-5 America East)
vs. Maine (9-8, 5-2 America East)
January 30, 2005 • 1:00 p.m.
Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine™™
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Today's Match Up
Stony Brook (4-12, 2-5) returns to the road to take on Maine (8-8, 4-2) this afternoon. The Black Bears own a 5-2 all-time advantage over the Seawolves, and have won four straight in the series.
Scouting the Black Bears
Maine enters today's contest having won three of their last four games, including a 62-46 victory over UMBC.
The Black Bears are led by Missy Traversi, who is averaging 12.5 points per game.
Last Time Out
Mykeema Ford netted 24 points and dished out seven assists and Inbar Orion added 18 as Stony Brook snapped a five-game losing streak with a 77-66 victory over Northeastern on Wednesday. Stony Brook took over in the second half, stretching the lead to as many as 15 at 60-45 on a basket by Orion at the 9:16 mark. NU responded with a 7-0 run to trim the lead back to eight with 7:07 to play, but Ford would sink three three-pointers over the next four minutes and the Seawolves would lead by at least eight points the rest of the way. Ford finished with 24 points, seven assists and six rebounds, while Orion shot 8-for-9 from the floor for 18 points to go with nine boards. Jessica Smith posted her third double-double in four outings with 11 points and 12 boards. The Seawolves, who led 35-32 at the break behind 12 first half points from Orion, improved to 4-1 on the season when leading at the half.
Solid Return for Ford
Mykeema Ford made a huge impact in her return to the Seawolves lineup on Jan. 26 vs. Northeastern. The sophomore point guard, who missed a pair of games after returning home to tend to a family emergency, netted a team-high 24 points while adding seven assists and six rebounds. Ford's performance helped spark Stony Brook to a 77-66 victory over Northeastern and snap a five-game losing streak.
That's More Like It
After struggling with their shooting for the last several games, the Seawolves had one of their best outings of the season on Jan. 26 vs. Northeastern. Stony Brook, which entered the contest shooting .397 from the field, shot .467 from the floor (28-for-60) and .556 (5-for-9) from three point range to snap a five-game losing streak.
Inbar Orion, who entered the game shooting just .308 (4-for-13) over SB's last three outings, shot .889 (8-for-9) from the field and finished with 18 points.
Need To Lead
Stony Brook has been unable to come back from a first half deficit all season, losing all 11 contests when trailing at the break. The Seawolves have fared much better in the four games in which they lead at halftime, posting a 4-1 mark.
Shooting Woes Continue
Despite scoring over 66 points a game, Stony Brook has not shot well from the field most of this season. The Seawolves struggled with their shooting even more so in their nine games between Dec. 28 and Jan. 22, posting a .358 (196-for-548) field goal percentage. Included in those games were eight contests where SB shot under .375.
In games played through Jan. 22, SB shot .397 (363-for-914), while only three players - Jessica Smith (.544), Inbar Orion (.500) and Dana Ferraro (.410) shot over .400 from the field.
Defensive Struggles Haunt SB
Stony Brook has struggled defensively so far this season, allowing a conference-worst 75.8 points per game. SB has been unable to take advantage of their scoring average of 66.1 points per outing, which ranks third best in the league.
In 10 of the Seawolves 12 losses this season, they have allowed 74 or more points, including eight games with 83 or more.
In its four victories, Stony Brook has held its opponents to 66 or fewer points.
Missing Mykeema
Stony Brook struggled in its two games without starting point guard Mykeema Ford. The sophomore, who missed the Binghamton and Boston University contests after returning home to tend to a family emergency, is the Seawolves leading scorer (15.5 ppg), while also leading the team in assists (5.6 apg) and steals (1.8 spg).
Ford's Shooting Struggles
Despite averaging 15.5 points a game, Mykeema Ford has struggled with her shooting touch for most of the season, but even more noticeably over a four-game span in January.
Ford, who shot just .317 (69-for-218) through SB's first 15 games, shot an even worse .234 (15-for-64) in four appearances between Jan. 5-15, including a 4-for-19 (.211) performance vs. Hartford on Jan. 15.
Boylan Heating Up
Junior Jessie Boylan has quietly made her presence felt so far this season. Boylan, who is averaging 6.8 points per game, double her career average of 3.3, has scored in double figures five times so far, a feat she had not accomplished once before this year. Against Binghamton on Jan. 18, she posted a new career-high with 15 points.
Inbar in the Mix
Inbar Orion has quietly become a key player in the Stony Brook lineup this season. The sophomore had a breakthrough performance at St. Bonaventure on Dec. 11, netting a career-high 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field to go with nine boards.
Orion, who's previous best was 13 points vs. Charlotte a year ago, ranks second on the team and fifth in America East with a .532 field goal average and fourth on the team with 8.3 points per game.
League Leaders
Several Seawolves rank among the America East leaders in games through Jan. 22.
Jessica Smith ranks second in the league with a .544 field goal percentage, tied for second with 7.8 rebounds per game and tied fourth with 15.3 points. Mykeema Ford ranks third in scoring (15.5 ppg), second in assists (5.5 apg) and sixth in steals (1.9 spg). Dana Ferraro is tenth in rebounding (6.5 rpg), while Inbar Orion stands fifth in field goal percentage (.500).
Ingram Comes Through
Senior Danyelle Ingram came through in a big way for the Seawolves vs. UMBC on Jan. 5. Ingram, who entered the contest averaging just 10.8 minutes off the bench, broke a 66-all tie on a layup with four seconds remaining to give SB the win.
Ingram, who is looking to regain her form from her freshman campaign when she averaged 10.2 points per game and earned America East All-Rookie team honors, netted a season-high nine points vs. Hartford on Jan. 15 and five vs. the Retrievers.
Ferraro on the boards
Dana Ferraro has made a huge impact on the boards for the Seawolves so far this season. The freshman forward, who ranks second on the team with 6.6 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 Deleware and a game-high 10 at Providence. The freshman recorded her first double-double, netting 12 points and pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds at Vermont on Jan. 12 before totalling 11 points and 10 boards in her first career start at Boston University on Jan. 22.
Ford Earns All-Tourney Honors
Mykeema Ford was named to the FIU Sun and Fun Classic All-Tournament Team after averaging 18.0 points in the two-day tournament. Ford, who netted 16 points in the Seawolves' loss to FIU, was key in SB's win over Brown in the consolation game, posting game-highs of 20 points,six assists and four steals.
Smith Can't Miss
Jessica Smith was nearly unstoppable at Providence on Dec. 7, tying a career-high with 23 points in the victory.
The sophomore set a school record after shooting 11-for-11 from the field, marking the first time in school history a player - men's or women's - has shot 100 percent from the floor with more than 10 attempts.
Watson's not so bad either
Kelly Watson also had a career night at Providence. The sophomore set new career highs with 25 points, nine field goals made, five three point field goals made and a .500 (5-for-10) three point field goal percentage.
Smith Breaking through
After netting just 13 points combined in SB'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 against Long Beach State.
In the Seawolves four outings between Dec. 4 and 11, Smith averaged 21.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game while shooting .700 (35-of-50) from the field and .842 (16-for-19) from the free throw line.
SB vs. Big East Teams
With their win over Providence on Dec. 7, the Seawolves improved to 2-6 all-time vs. Big East opponents. Stony Brook, which lost to Big East member Pittsburgh on Dec. 4, picked up its first win over a Big East team in 2001, when it earned a 65-51 road victory at St. John's.
Ford 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 that week, after collecting a season-high 26 points at Deleware, 24 points and seven assists vs. Pittsburgh and 18 points and eigh assists vs. Long Beach State.
Keep it comin' Keema
Mykeema Ford was outstanding for the Seawolves in early December. The sophomore averaged 22.7 points, after netting 26 points vs. Deleware, 24 vs. Pittsburgh and 18 vs. Long Beach State.
Ford, who started 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.
Offensive Turn-Around
Stony Brook picked up its offensive out-put vs. Pittsburgh and Long Beach State in the Holiday Inn Express Invitational. The Seawolves entered the weekend averaging 59.0 points, 11.5 assists and 4.0 three pointers. After its two contests vs. Pittsburgh and Long Beach State, however, SB is 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.
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, as SB connected 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.
Paw Prints
Stony Brook's 85-53 loss to Boston U on Jan. 22 was its worst loss since March of 2003 when Vermont handed the Seawolves an 87-42 loss... Stony Brook pulled down a season high 45 rebounds at New Hampshire on Jan. 8... Mykeema Ford dished out her 100th career assist, while Jessica Smith sank her 100th career free throw on Jan. 8 at New Hampshire... with their win over UMBC on Jan. 5, the Seawolves snapped a three-game winless streak at home, dating back to March 3, 2004... Mykeema Ford scored her 500th career point Dec. 29 vs. Brown, while Jessica Smith netted her 400th on Dec. 7 at Providence... Mykeema Ford's nine assists vs. Bradley (11/21) tied her for 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 scored a career-high 12 points at Vermont on Jan. 12, improving on her previous high of 11 at Bradley and marking the fourth time the junior has scored in double-figures... The Seawolves' 29 turnovers vs. Bradley were the most since they turned the ball over 32 times vs. Richmond on December 29, 2002... Jessica Smith scored her 500th career point, while netting her 200th career field goal against Vermont on Jan. 12. ™™
