Feb. 22, 2005

Game 24
Stony Brook (8-15, 6-8 America East)
vs. Albany (11-12, 6-8 America East)
February 23, 2005 • 7:00 p.m.
Recreation & Convocation Center • Albany, N.Y.™™

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Today's Match Up
Stony Brook (8-15, 6-8) is back on the road for the second straight game when the Seawolves travel to take on Albany (11-12, 6-8) this evening. Both teams are tied for sixth place in the conference standings heading into tonight's contest.

The Great Danes, who have won three straight in the series, tied up the all-time series at 15 wins a piece after earning a 76-73 win over the Seawolves back on Feb. 2.

Scouting the Great Danes
Albany enters today's contest having lost three straight games and four of its last five, including a 69-53 loss at UMBC on Saturday.

The Great Danes are led by Danielle Hutcheson, who is averaging 14.6 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.

Last Time Out
Laura Sario's layup with 3.5 seconds left in regulation broke a 66-all tie to lift Binghamton to a 68-66 win over Stony Brook on Sunday. Jessie Boylan led the Seawolves with a team-high 19 points fueled by a 5-for-9 performance from three point range. Ford finished with 13 points, but struggled with her shot, finishing 4-for-22 in the contest. Morgan Patrick provided a huge spark off the bench, posting career-highs of eight points and four rebounds in 15 minutes of action.

Smith's Double-Figures Scoring Streak Ends
Jessica Smith saw her double-figures scoring streak come to an end in the Seawolves loss to Binghamton on Feb. 20. Smith, who entered the contest having scored in double-figures in each of SB's 21 games dating back to Dec. 4, 2004, was in foul trouble all afternoon and managed just nine points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor.

Pick Your Poison
Opposing defenses have had their hands full with Stony Brook's Mykeema Ford and Jessica Smith, especially in SB's three outings between Feb. 9-16.

In the Vermont contest, both players led an even-paced attack, with Ford netting nine in the first half and 11 in the second and Smith totalling 15 in each stanza. The sophomores flip-flopped scoring duties in the Hartford contest, with Ford posting seven in the first and 17 in the second and Smith dropping 17 in the first and five in the second. The same was true vs. Boston University, as Ford netted 22 points in the first half to finish with 30 for the game, while Smith scored 20 of her 24 in the second half.

Get the Lead, Get the Win
Stony Brook has been nearly unstoppable when leading at halftime. The Seawolves have posted a 8-1 record when leading at the break. When behind, however, Stony Brook has struggled this season, losing all 14 contests when it trails at the half.

Ford, Smith Top Scoring Duo in America East
Sophomores Mykeema Ford and Jessica Smith are once again the top scoring duo in America East in games played through Feb. 20.

The pair, which finished their freshman campaign as the top scoring duo after averaging a combined 25.0 points per game, have teamed up to score 34.1 points per outing. The next closest pair is Northeastern's Maralene Zwarich and Shaleyse Smallwood at 31.8 points per game.

Boylan Heating Up
Junior Jessie Boylan has quietly made her presence felt so far this season. Boylan, who is averaging 7.8 points per game, nearly double her career average of 3.8, has scored in double figures eight times so far, a feat she had not accomplished once before this year.

Boylan posted the best outing of her career vs. UMBC on Feb. 5, shooting 8-for-11 from the field while knocking down 6-of-8 three point attempts for a career-high 22 points. Her second half play in SB's upset of Hartford on Feb. 12 was key, as she scored all of her 12 points in the stanza. She added another solid performance vs. Binghamton, netting a team-best 19 points on 5-of-9 shooting from downtown.

Ingram Comes Through... Again
Senior Danyelle Ingram has come through in a big way in the Seawolves three outings between Feb. 9-16.

Ingram came off the bench to score 11 points vs. Vermont and a season-high 14 points on 3-of-3 shooting from the field and 8-for-12 from the free throw line vs. Hartford. She then netted 10 points in the win over Boston U.

In the three wins, she averaged 11.7 points while shooting .688 (11-of-16) from the field and .765 (13-of-17) from the free throw line.

Sophomore Leadership
Despite some ups and downs, Jessica Smith and Mykeema Ford have been outstanding for the Seawolves during their sophomore campaigns. The pair has combined to lead the team in scoring in 17 of Stony Brook's 23 games while posting 34.1 of the Seawolves 68.0 points, half of their scoring output.

Smith also leads the team with a 545 (140-for-257) field goal percentage, while Ford is the leader with 5.1 assists per outing.

What a Difference a Few Wins Make
Stony Brook, which spent most of this season ranked ninth or 10th in the America East standings, has jumped to a three-way tie for sixth place behind the strength of a four-game winning streak, which was snapped after SB's loss to Binghamton on Feb. 20.

Seawolves Finally Coming Together
After losing eight of their first 10 games to start the new year, the Seawolves put together a four game winning streak from Feb. 5-16, their longest since winning four straight contests from Feb. 4-14 in 2004.

In games played through Feb. 16, Stony Brook averaged 68.1 points per game and shot .410 from the floor and .306 from downtown. But during the streak, SB picked up its offense, averaging 77.0 points while shooting .493 (106-for-215) from the field and .365 (19-for-52) from three point range.

Smith Battles Back
After struggling with her shooting for the previous four games, Jessica Smith bounced back with four outstanding performances between Feb. 5-16. Smith, who shot just .267 (12-for-45) in the four outings prior to the UMBC game, finished 8-for-10 from the field for 17 points vs. the Retrievers. She followed that game with a career-high 30 points, which ties her for the 10th best single-game performance in school history, after shooting 13-for-17 from the field vs. Vermont. She then added 22 points in an upset of Hartford and 24 in a win over Boston University. In those four outings, Smith averaged 23.3 points while shooting .709 (39-for-55).

Smith, Ferraro Sweep Weekly Awards
Jessica Smith was named the Wilson Player of the Week for the first time in her career, while Dana Ferraro earned her first Rookie of the Week award on Feb. 14.

Smith averaged 26.0 points while shooting nearly 70 percent (23-for-33) from the floor in a 2-0 week for SB. Smith started the week with a career-high 30 points vs. Vermont, which tied her for the 10th-best single-game total in school history. She capped it with 22 points in the upset of Hartford.

Ferraro was unstoppable on the boards, averaging 16.0 per outing, while chipping in with 6.0 points and 4.0 assists. In the win over UVM, Ferraro pulled down 13 rebounds. In the win over Hartford, she exploded for a career-high 19 rebounds and five assists, along with six points and two steals. Her 19 rebounds tied her for the third-best single-game total in school history.

Notable
The Seawolves four game winning streak marked the longest spurt since their four-game winning streak Feb. 4-14 of last year... During the streak, Stony Brook picked up its offense, averaging 77.0 points per game while shooting .493 (106-for-215) from the field and .365 (19-for-52) from three point range... SB is 8-1 when leading at halftime... it has yet to win a game this season when trailing at the half (0-14)... Jessica Smith has scored in double-figures in 20-of-23 games this season and 39-of-51 for her career, while Mykeema Ford has accomplished the feat in 19-of-21 and 37-of-49... Stony Brook's win at UMBC on Feb. 5 was just its second road win this season and third away from home.

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