STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The Stony Brook women's basketball team got hot from behind the arc and couldn't be stopped as it emerged with a 57-44 win over UMBC on Wednesday night at the Island Federal Arena.
 
Coming into the contest with a shooting percentage of 32.1 from long range, the Seawolves knocked down 42.9 percent (12-of-28) of its tries from three en route to victory.
 
The senior G duo of Jerell Matthews (Chicago, Ill.) and Shania Johnson (Frederick, Md.) scored 17 points apiece and combined for nine of the 12 made threes.
 
Stony Brook is now tied for third place in the America East standings along with UAlbany while Hartford and Maine are tied for the top spot (7-1).

McCOMBS REACTION
"I thought we defended well for three of the four quarters tonight. Our guards got going offensively which was good to see and really had an impact on the game. Each game in conference play is big, so I'm glad we were able to defend our home court tonight."
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Overall, the team put on a defensive clinic through the first three quarters, holding UMBC to under 10 points in each of those three frames.
• The Retrievers finally secured its first field goal of the game with 3:11 left in the first period as Stony Brook ran out to an 11-4 advantage following back-to-back threes by Matthews.
• The first quarter also saw a successful four-point play by Johnson, who made her three-point shot as she was fouled and converted the extra free throw.
• Matthews' stroke hit its peak in the second quarter, putting in three 3-point baskets to total four before the halftime break.
• After the first 20 minutes, Stony Brook led 27-14, shooting 46.2 percent from three while holding the Retrievers to just 14.3 percent from the field.
• Yet another big three came in the waning seconds of the third quarter as Johnson swished one in with the clock winding down to put the team up, 40-22, with 10 minutes left to play.
• The biggest advantage of the game for the Seawolves (21 points) came with 9:22 left in regulation following a three from Johnson after Matthews came up with a steal.
• UMBC managed to outscore the home team (22-17) in the final quarter off of 72.7 percent shooting from the floor.

NOTES

• Matthews' five field goals on the night all came from behind the arc.
• Along with her 17 points, Johnson also recorded nine assists to nearly record her eighth double-double of the season.
• She is now No. 3 in school history in both career assists (328) and 3-point field goals made (65).
• Sophomore G/F Jonae Cox (Portsmouth, Va.) grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds to top her previous best of seven.
• Stony Brook now has a six-game lead in the all time series with UMBC (21-15) and are unbeaten against the Retrievers in the last four.
• The team out-rebounded the opposition by a 44-31 margin.
• The Seawolves kept the Retrievers below its season averages in scoring (58.0), rebounds (37.4), field goal percentage (38.4) and 3-point field goal percentage (32.1).

UP NEXT
Stony Brook hits the road this Saturday, Feb. 2, for a rematch with Hartford. Action at the Chase Arena is set to begin at 2 p.m.