| Stony Brook (8-4) vs. Harvard (6-5) |
| LOCATION |
Lavietes Pavillion | Cambridge, Mass. |
| DATE | TIME |
Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017 | 2:00 p.m. |
| COVERAGE |
Live Stats | Live Video (NESN/Ivy League Network) |
| GAME NOTES |
Stony Brook | Harvard |
| SOCIAL |
@StonyBrookWBB |
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Stony Brook women's basketball closes out 2017-18 non-conference play on Sunday, Dec. 31, traveling to Harvard for a 2 p.m. contest.
Scouting Harvard
- Harvard is 6-5 so far in 2017-18, most recently topping Akron on the road on Dec. 21.
- Katie Benzan leads the way for the Crimson so far this year, scoring 13.2 points per game.
- The Seawolves are 1-2 all-time vs. Harvard in the Division I era, topping the Crimson, 64-63, the last time the two programs met on Dec. 30, 2015.
Final Non-Conference Action
- Stony Brook enters its final non-conference contest of the year with eight victories, building a five-game winning streak and a three-game winning streak during that span.
- The Seawolves need just one more victory to match their total of nine non-conference wins in 2015-16, the most non-America East victories under head coach Caroline McCombs.
Last Time Out
- The Seawolves won their third-straight contest on Dec. 21 on the road at Hanner Fieldhouse, topping Georgia Southern, 68-49, to improve to 8-4 this season.
- Stony Brook shot 42.3 percent (22-for-52) from the floor in the road win, knocking down eight 3-pointers. The Seawolves made a season-high 16 free throws, as well.
- The Seawolves' defense recorded nine steals, forcing Georgia Southern to turn the ball over 17 times. Stony Brook out-rebounded the Eagles 36-26.
- Jerell Matthews (Chicago, Ill.) scored a game-high 20 points, just one point shy of her career-best. Matthews added seven rebounds and three assists in the winning effort, going 8-of-13 (4-of-7 from 3-point range).
- Shania Johnson (Frederick, MD.) added 18 points, three rebounds and three assists of her own, sinking four 3-pointers in 25 minutes of action.
Head Coach Caroline McCombs
- Caroline McCombs is in her fourth season as the head coach of the Stony Brook women's basketball team in 2017-18, as the Seawolves' head coach has risen among the winningest coaches in Stony Brook's Division I era.
- With eight victories to begin the 2017-18 season, McCombs has now won 54 games on Long Island – which ranks second among Stony Brook coaches in the Division I era. McCombs guided the Seawolves' program to 17 wins in 2014-15, 17 victories in 2015-16, and 12 wins in 2016-17.
America East Weekly Awards
Seawolves' forward
India Pagan was named America East Women's Basketball Rookie of the Week, as announced by the conference office on Monday, Dec. 18. The first-year forward tallied 19 points and 10 rebounds on 9-of-11 shooting in a pair of Stony Brook wins.
Stony Brook has earned three America East weekly award honors so far this year:
Clark on the Glass
- Junior transfer Cheyenne Clark (Deptford, N.J.) has grabbed 120 rebounds (10.0 per game) in total so far this year, which ranks No. 32 nationally and No. 1 in the America East.
- Clark grabbed 23 rebounds on Dec. 6 vs. Yale, the third-highest single-game rebound total for any player in the country this season. She then recorded 11 offensive rebounds on Dec. 17 vs. CCSU, and now ranks No. 10 in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (5.0).
Johnson from Distance
Shania Johnson (Frederick, MD.) has drained 34 3-point field goals so far in 12 games (2.84 per game) for the Seawolves, which ranks No. 1 in the America East.
Daunting Defense
- Stony Brook has allowed just 54.8 points per contest, which ranks No. 19 in the nation and best in the America East.
- The program has forced opponents to shoot just 25.5 percent from beyond the arc, which checks in at No. 13 nationally and best in the America East.
- Opponents have shot just 36.9 percent from the floor vs. the Seawolves.
Non-Conference Success
Stony Brook is 13-5 in its last 18 non-conference contests, dating back to Dec. 11, 2016.
Preseason Poll
The Seawolves were selected to finish No. 8 in the 2017-18 America East Women's Basketball Coaches' Poll, as announced by the conference on Oct. 19, 2017. Stony Brook received 16 total votes in the poll. New Hampshire was voted as the unanimous league favorite, garnering 64 total votes.
Next Up
Stony Brook begins America East action on Wednesday, Jan. 3, traveling to Maine for a 7 p.m. tip-off in Bangor.
The Seawolves return to Island Federal Credit Union Arena on Jan. 6, hosting Hartford in America East play. To purchase tickets to all 2017-18 Stony Brook women's basketball home games,
CLICK HERE.
