NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – The Stony Brook women's basketball team grinded out a tough 53-51 win over Iona on Tuesday night at the Hynes Center.
 
It all came down to the final possession as the Gaels had one last opportunity to either win or send the game to overtime after cutting its deficit to just two following a good 3-pointer with 14 seconds remaining. Ultimately, Iona's Shyan Mwai missed a jumper in the waning seconds, got her own rebound, but couldn't put in the game-tying layup as the Seawolves notched their ninth win in a row to improve to 9-1 on the season.
 
Senior G Jerell Matthews (Chicago, Ill.) had a monstrous outing, leading the way with 22 points, eight rebounds, six steals and three assists. Senior G Shania Johnson (Frederick, Md.) also hit double figures, adding in 13 points, six rebounds and three assists.
 
McCOMBS REACTION
"We haven't been in a ton of close games so I think that we really just tried to stay focused. It started on our defense trying to get some stops. I'm glad that we had this adverse situation on the road and were able to come out on top."
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Shania Johnson came out firing for Stony Brook in the first quarter, figuring herself into the scoring of the first three baskets. She assisted the first layup of the game by dishing the ball out to redshirt sophomore F Oksana Gouchie-Provencher (Montreal, Canada) and then went to swish through a pair of 3-pointers of her own to help the Seawolves to an early 8-2 lead over Iona.
• Johnson added in another bucket from behind the arc to end the opening period with nine points from 3-of-3 shooting from the long range as the team went up 16-8.
• Iona responded in the second quarter, outscoring Stony Brook 20-11 to take a 28-27 lead at halftime. A big part of the comeback effort came from a 14-0 run that lasted for about five and half minutes. Luckily, Jerell Matthews broke the Seawolves' drought with a big three and a layup and sophomore F McKenzie Bushee (Pittsburgh, Pa.) also came up big down the first-half stretch, putting in back-to-back baskets to make it a one-point game.
• The squad came out firing from beyond the arc after halftime, hitting back-to-back-to-back threes from Matthews (2) and sophomore G/F Hailey Zeise (Pittsburgh, Pa.) to force Iona to take a timeout as Stony Brook reclaimed a 36-28 lead.
• In the fourth quarter, the Gaels came within five early on before Matthews hit four clutch free throws. Down by eight with 1:52 left in the contest, Iona hit a three following a timeout and punched in layup to cut its deficit to three with 39.4 seconds left.
• Johnson was fouled and hit both of her free throws with 25.7 seconds on the clock but with 11.9 left, Iona hit another clutch 3-pointer to come within two and ended up with the ball in their court with 10 seconds remaining.

 
NOTES

• At 9-1, this is the best start for the program since the 1986-87 team went 18-1 through the first 19 games of the season.
• With six steals, Jerell Matthews earned a new career high while also tying her career high in rebounds (8).
• Redshirt sophomore F Kina Smith (Bronx, N.Y.) made her first start for Stony Brook since earning a spot in the starting lineup against Albany on Feb. 4, 2017.
• Smith tied a career's best in rebounds (7) and dished out two assists.
• Also tying career highs were Oksana Gouchie-Provencher (3 blocks) and freshman G Anastasia Warren (Atlanta, Ga.) with two steals.
• Shania Johnson matched a season high with six rebounds.
• Johnson has hit double-figure scoring in all 10 games this season while Matthews has done it in nine.
• The all-time series between the two programs is now tied at 6-6 with the Seawolves claiming the last two meetings.
• Last year, Stony Brook hosted Iona on Dec. 14 and walked away with a commanding 63-46 victory.

 
UP NEXT
Stony Brook returns to familiar territory this Saturday, hosting Wagner for a 2 p.m. contest at the Island Federal Arena.