Nov. 13, 2009

Final Stats

Stony Brook, N.Y. - Stony Brook University's women's basketball team dropped its 2009-10 season opener, 68-43, to Princeton on Friday night in Pritchard Gymnasium. The Seawolves were led by sophomore center Destiny Jacobs (Glen Burnie, Md.) who scored eight points while grabbing ten rebounds. Paced by Niveen Rasheed's 18 points, the Tigers used a second-half surge to pull away from Stony Brook. With the loss Stony Brook stands at 0-1 on the season while Princeton opens with a 1-0 record.

"Destiny did a great job for us on the boards," said head coach Michele Cherry. "As a team, though, we need to play tougher and push back on our box outs. I thought the crowd was great tonight and we hope that kind of support continues throughout the season."

After falling behind early at 14-6, Stony Brook battled its way back behind a balanced offensive attack to pull within one at 18-17 on a layup from junior Kirsten Jeter (Elmont, N.Y.). During the Seawolves 11-4 run, five different players tallied points.

Princeton answered right back, however, scoring eight of the next nine points, reopening its eight-point advantage on a three from Rasheed with 5:45 remaining in the half. A layup from Jeter sandwiched by a pair of buckets from freshman Amanda Corono (North Hollywood, Calif.) cut the Tigers' lead down to four with 3:30 left, but those would be Stony Brook's last points of the half as Princeton went into halftime leading 32-24.

Princeton opened the second half with a hot shooting touch, connecting on four of its first five field goals to extend its advantage to 17 points. A pair of free throws from senior Joia Daniels (Silver Spring, Md.) at the 18:37 mark would be the only points the Seawolves would score for almost three minutes until Daniels banked in a layup to put the score at 43-28.

Back-to-back buckets from Princeton's Addie Micir gave the Tigers a 20 point cushion with 14:33 remaining, which they maintained throughout the majority of the second half. Even after missing five of their final six field goal attempts, the Tigers shot 43.3% in the second half.

All five members of Stony Brook's freshmen class saw action tonight, with Sam Landers (Springfield, Va.) leading the way with five points and four rebounds. Jacobs, who was named the America East Player of the Game, was 3-for-6 from the field while adding in two steals.

Stony Brook's next game will be at home on Sunday when they welcome the Red Storm of St. John's to Pritchard Gymnasium. Tip is set for 2:00 p.m.