STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The Stony Brook women's basketball team won a thriller over Cornell on Saturday night at the Island Federal Arena, topping Cornell 63-61 thanks to an old-fashioned three-point play by sophomore G Jonae Cox (Portsmouth, Va.).

With 18 seconds left on the clock and the game tied at 59-59, Cox was fouled on her way up to the basket and earned the Seawolves a three-point advantage after successfully knocking down the layup and the extra free throw. 
 
The Big Red got within one with five seconds left after a layup, but a key free throw from sophomore F India Pagan (New London, Conn.) and a missed shot at the buzzer by Cornell ultimately sealed the deal for the home team. 
 
McCOMBS REACTION
"I thought that we came out a little slow compared to how we had been playing so I like how we were able to come from behind. Cornell is a really good team. They were the tougher team today. They were really gritty in what they did and I feel fortunate we were able to come out with the win and get in a situation that will help prepare us for our upcoming games."
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Both teams got off to a slow start shooting-wise but Cornell got the first momentum shift, taking a 12-6 lead with 2:15 remaining in the first quarter.
• One minute later, Stony Brook got a big steal from senior G Jerell Matthews (Chicago, Ill.) and a layup by junior F Kina Smith (Bronx, N.Y) to get back into it.
• After heading into the first intermission down 11-15, the Seawolves found their rhythm and outscored its opponent 21-12 to take a 32-27 advantage heading into the locker room. 
• Stony Brook tied things up at 19 with 6:20 left before the half following a layup by sophomore F McKenzie Bushee (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and was backed up by consecutive 3-pointers by freshman G Anastasia Warren (Atlanta, Ga.) and senior G Shania Johnson (Frederick, Md.).
• Johnson wasn't done there, knocking down back-to-back-to-back threes to put the team up by five.
• In the second half, both teams were once again plagued with shooting woes but a big layup and free throw by Cox helped Stony Brook to a 50-41 lead in the final minute of the third period. 
• Cornell would not go down without a fight in the fourth, taking a one-point lead, 57-56, with just 3:14 left in the contest.
• Johnson was clutch again behind the arc, nailing a 3-point shot with 1:37 left before Cornell tied things up again, 59-59, with just 45 seconds on the clock.

NOTES

• Johnson and Matthews hit double figures for the squad, notching point totals of 17 and 15. 
• Redshirt sophomore F Oksana Gouchie-Provencher (Montreal, Canada) recorded a career-high seven rebounds and Matthews also got career bests in assists (6) and blocks (3).
• Bushee tied her season highs in rebounds (4) and points (6) and tied a career high in assists (2).
• The Seawolves shot 53.3 percent from the floor in the second quarter, nailing 5-of-9 threes in the process. 
• Stony Brook is 4-2 all-time against Cornell and successfully avenged its 40-48 loss in Ithaca, N.Y. exactly one year ago.
• The team lead for 23:17 of the game and had its largest lead (9) with 43 seconds left in the third following Cox's and-1 play.
• With her six assists tonight, Johnson is now ninth all-time in program history in assists with 234.
•  Each squad had 37 rebounds with Stony Brook scoring 22 points in the paint and 21 points coming from the bench.
• Stony Brook has now won six games in a row, last doing so in the 2015-16 season when the team went undefeated for eight-straight games.

UP NEXT
Stony Brook hits to road, traveling to Sacred Heart for a 6 p.m. start on Tuesday, Dec. 4.