Feb. 4, 2005

Game 19
Stony Brook (4-14, 2-7 America East)
vs. UMBC (7-11, 2-7 America East)
February 5, 2005 • 7:00 p.m.
RAC Arena • Baltimore, Md.™™

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Today's Match Up
Stony Brook (4-14, 2-7) travels to take on UMBC (7-11, 2-7) this evening. The Seawolves, who have won all three meetings in the all-time series, enter the contest having lost seven of their last eight games, while the Retrievers have lost nine of their last 11.

Scouting the Retrievers
UMBC enters tonight's contest having lost three straight contests, including a 55-27 setback at Vermont on Wednesday.

The Retrievers are led by Matea Pender, who is averaging 14.1 points and 5.6 rebounds while shooting .519 (41-for-79) from three point range.

Last Time Out
Albany survived a furious come-back attempt by Stony Brook as the Great Danes held on for a 76-73 victory on Wednesday. SB trimmed a 13-point Albany lead with under three minutes to play to one point after a pair of three's by Mykeema Ford, two free throws by Dana Ferraro and a three by Kelly Watson with seven seconds left. Maree Jones hit two free throws and the Seawolves had one last chance to tie it, but Stephanie Barlett's three-point attempt at the buzzer was off the mark and Albany held on for the win. Ford led all scorers with 29 points fueled by six three's. Jessica Smith collected 13 points and nine rebounds, while Ferraro posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards.

Smith's Shooting Struggles
Jessica Smith has struggled from the field in Stony Brook's last four outings. Smith, who led the league with a .567 (85-for-150) field goal percentage after the Binghamton game back on Jan. 18, has shot just .267 (12-for-45) in SB's last four outings, lowering her season shooting percentage to .497 (97-for-195).

Wins vs. Losses
There has been a dramatic difference in Stony Brook's statistics in games it went on to win vs. lose.

In the Seawolves' four wins, five players-Jessica Smith (16.0), Kelly Watson (15.3), Mykeema Ford (14.5) Inbar Orion (9.3) and Jessie Boylan (8.8)-have averaged over 8.0 points per game. In their 14 losses, only two players have scored more than 8.0 points- Ford (18.1) and Smith (14.5).

Notable
The Seawolves collected a season-high 15 steals while forcing 26 turnovers vs. Albany on Feb. 2... SB has yet to win a game this season when trailing at halftime... Jessica Smith has scored in double-figures in 16-of-18 games this season and 35-of-46 for her career, while Mykeema Ford has accomplished the feat in 14-of-16 and 32-of-44... Smith is tied for the conference lead along with Northeastern's Maralene Zwarich with 16 consecutive double-figures scoring games... Stony Brook's opponents are averaging 5.9 three point field goals per game.

Double Threat
Jessica Smith has picked up her play in conference action, posting double-doubles in five of the Seawolves last eight games.

Smith, who entered league play with just one double-double on the season, has racked up five in Stony Brook's nine conference games so far. The sophomore is averaging 14.6 points and 9.8 rebounds in conference play.

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.

Need To Lead
Stony Brook has been unable to come back from a first half deficit all season, losing all 13 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 74.2 points per game. SB has been unable to take advantage of their scoring average of 62.9 points per outing, which ranks third best in the league.

In 12 of the Seawolves 14 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.

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 previous three outings, shot .889 (8-for-9) from the field and finished with 18 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, while also leading the team in assists and steals.

Ford's Shooting Struggles
Despite averaging over 16 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 6.4 points per game, nearly double her career average of 3.4, 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 first on the team and third in America East with a .508 field goal average and third on the team with 8.2 points per game.

League Leaders
Several Seawolves rank among the America East leaders in games through Feb. 1.

Jessica Smith ranks second in the league with 8.2 rebounds per game, fourth with a .516 field goal percentage and fifth with 14.9 points. Mykeema Ford is second in scoring (16.4 ppg) and assists (5.3 apg) and fifth in steals (1.9 spg). Dana Ferraro is tenth in rebounding (6.5 rpg), while Inbar Orion stands second in field goal percentage (.518).

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.

Paw Prints
Mykeema Ford collected her 600th career points on Jan. 30 at Maine... 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... 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'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 tied for ninth at the school... The Seawolves' 29 turnovers vs. Bradley were the most since they turned the ball over 32 times vs. Richmond on December 29, 2002. ™™