Jan. 31, 2006

Game 19
Stony Brook (11-7, 4-3) America East)
vs. Albany (5-13, 1-6 America East)
February 1, 2006 • 5:00 p.m.
Recreation & Convocation Center • Albany, N.Y.

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Tonight's Matchup
Stony Brook (11-7, 4-3 America East) looks to rebound from a poor shooting effort last time out when the Seawolves visit Albany (5-13, 1-6 America East) this evening. The Great Danes own a slim 16-15 all-time advantage after winning four straight in the series, including an 81-60 win in the teams' last meeting.

Scouting the Great Danes
Albany enters tonight's contest having lost three straight and six of its last seven, including a 70-49 loss at Binghamton last time out. The Great Danes are led by Jen Schumacher's 10.7 points per game, while Joy Sterling is the team-leader with 6.8 rebounds per outing.

Last Time Out
Stony Brook struggled on both ends of the floor all afternoon and UMBC took advantage, cruising to a 70-48 victory.

UMBC took advantage of SB's early shooting woes, jumping out to a 36-18 halftime lead. The Seawolves shot just 22.2 percent in the half to 56.5 percent for the visitors and were outrebounded by a 24-11 margin.

The second half wasn't much better as the Retrievers led by at least 14 points and stretched their lead to 28 points with 3:34 remaining to put the game well out of reach.

Kelly Watson was the only Seawolf to reach double figures with 15 points. Mykeema Ford and Jessica Smith, who entered the game as two of the top three scorers in the conference, finished with five and seven points, respectively.

Smith Slowing Down
After scoring in double figures for 12 straight games, junior Jessica Smith has fallen into a slump, averaging just 8.0 points in Stony Brook's last three outings.

During that span, the Seawolves have gone 1-2 while Smith has shot just 25.8 percent (8-for-31) from the floor while seeing just 25.0 minutes per game due to foul trouble (five vs. Hartford, four vs. Maine and UMBC).

During her career, Smith has never gone more than three games without reaching double figures. The last time she went three games without reaching double digits came in the middle of a seven-game Stony Brook losing streak during her freshman season.

Watson Playing her Role
Kelly Watson stepped up in a big way off the bench for the Seawolves in its matchups with Maine and UMBC, averaging 12.0 points - more than double her season average of 5.7 entering the week - while shooting 53.3 percent (8-for-15) from the floor and 54.5 percent (6-for-11) from three point range.

Watson kicked off the week by hitting 3-of-4 three pointers for nine points vs. Maine on January 25 before tallying a season-high 15 points behind three more trifectas against UMBC on January 29.

The junior, who has come off the bench in each of Stony Brook's 18 games, had started all but 11 of the 52 games she had appeared in entering this season.

Home Sweet Home
Stony Brook has been outstanding at home so far this season, racking up a 7-2 overall record and a 3-1 league mark at the Indoor Sports Complex.

The Seawolves have won six of their last seven games at home, including three convincing America East victories, to post their best record at the Sports Complex since going 8-1 back in 2000-01.

Ferraro, Ford Among NCAA Leaders
Dana Ferraro and Mykeema Ford rank among NCAA Division I leaders in games played through January 23. Ferraro jumped to fourth in the nation with 12.2 rebounds, while Ford stands 21th with 5.6 assists.

Noting the Seawolves
The Seawolves have won 11 games so far, their highest overall win total since 2002-03... at 11-7 SB is off to its best start through 17 games since the 2001-02 season, when it also went 11-7... the win over Vermont on January 7 kept the Seawolves perfect in America East openers, as SB has gone 5-0 since joining the league that same year... SB defeated a pair of conference champions this year, knocking off A-10 champ Temple on December 7 before downing Ivy League champion Dartmouth on December 13... SB has faced five teams that have either been ranked or received votes in the national polls this season, going 1-4 in those games.

Ford, Smith Reach 1000 Career Point Mark
Stony Brook's Mykeema Ford and Jessica Smith both reached the 1000-point mark for their careers, marking the first time in program history two Seawolves reached the milestone in the same season.

Ford reached the 1000-point mark on January 7th vs. Vermont, while Smith notched her 1000th point just two games later at New Hampshire on January 14.

Double Your Pleasure
Stony Brook has come to rely on the duo of Jessica Smith and Mykeema Ford to score in double-figures, while Dana Ferraro has consistently provided the same effort on the boards.

Through 18 games this season, Smith has reached double-figures 13 times and Ford 16, while Ferraro has pulled down double-figures rebounds in 14 contests.

For their careers, Smith has scored in double-digits in 57-of-74 games and Ford in 57-of-72, while Ferraro has reached double-figures boards in 25-of-46 outings.