STONY BROOK, N.Y. – It was a night to remember for Stony Brook women's basketball head coach
Caroline McCombs. Following the Seawolves' 72-43 win over Georgia Southern at the Island Federal Arena on Tuesday night, McCombs officially became the program's winningest coach in Stony Brook's Division I history.
McCombs takes over former head coach Trish Roberts (1999-2004) in that honor.
Just like the game against Manhattan over the weekend, the team got hot early on, shooting 75 percent in the first quarter and followed that up with 55.6 percent shooting in the second en route to a commanding 44-12 lead at halftime. Senior G
Jerell Matthews (Chicago, Ill.) led the scoring efforts with 24 points and senior G
Shania Johnson (Frederick, Md.) added in 12 points and a whopping 13 assists.
McCOMBS REACTION
"I'm just really excited to have the opportunity to coach these young women everyday. Being at a place like Stony Brook where we have so much support, it's just an unbelievable place and I'm so thankful for the opportunity to be here. The young women that I've had the opportunity to coach over the last five years, I really just can't thank them enough along with my assistant coaches."
HIGHLIGHTS
- After the two teams traded buckets to start the contest, Stony Brook went on an 8-0 run to take a 10-2 lead four minutes into the game. The Seawolves' 75 percent shooting in the first quarter came by way of 9-of-12 shooting from the floor.
- The squad turned up the heat even more in the second quarter, outscoring Georgia Southern by a 25-5 margin to lead up to the 32-point advantage at halftime. Both Jerell Matthews and Shania Johnson were already in double figures at that time.
- The Eagles would show some fight coming out of the locker room, cashing in on 58.3 percent of its shots in the third period, which included four buckets from beyond the arc to outscore Stony Brook, 19-14. Georgia Southern was also strong on its defensive side of the court, limiting the Seawolves to six field goals.
- However, a comeback for the visitors was out of reach in the fourth as Stony Brook reeled off a 10-0 run to take a 34-point lead with 4:07 remaining.
NOTES
- All three of the team's wins this season have come by 28 or more points.
- Sophomore G/F Hailey Zeise (Pittsburgh, Pa.) was the top rebounder on the floor, grabbing seven boards and Jerell Matthews led all players with four steals.
- Matthews' 24 points is a season-high for her, just four points shy of tying her career's best.
- Shania Johnson recorded her second double-double of the season with her 12 points and a career-high 13 assists.
- Stony Brook never once trailed and took the lead for good two and half minutes into the game.
- The squad was masterful in the paint, scoring 40 of its points in the lane. The Seawolves also took advantage of turnovers, tallying 26 points off of takeaways.
- In the first three games of the season, the Seawolves have employed the same starting lineup of Junior F Oksana Gouchie-Provencher (Markham, Ontario), sophomore F India Pagan (New London, Conn.), Matthews, Johnson and Zeise.
- Stony Brook is now 2-0 in the all-time series between the two teams. In the Seawolves' and Georgia Southern's inaugural matchup in Statesboro, Ga. last season, Stony Brook emerged with a 68-49 win.
- Stony Brook has won three games in a row and is a perfect 2-0 at the Island Federal Arena.
UP NEXT
Stony Brook hits the road this weekend, traveling to Big Ten foe Penn State for a 2 p.m. matchup on Sunday, Nov. 25.
