PITTSBURGH – Despite a late surge from the hosts, the Stony Brook women's basketball team stood strong and notched an upset victory over Pitt on Sunday afternoon at the Petersen Events Center.
 
The Pittsburgh pair of junior guard Hailey Zeise and junior forward McKenzie Bushee put on a show for their family and friends with Zeise swishing through a career-high 17 points while Bushee notched a season's best 10 to lead the team to the 59-56 win.
 
It was also a sweet homecoming for head coach Caroline McCombs and associate head coach Jeff Williams as the duo coached together at Pitt for five years.
 
The result marks the program's second-ever Power Five victory after the Seawolves topped Big Ten foe Penn State last season.
 
McCOMBS REACTION
"I'm so proud of our team today. We talked about doing the dirty hard work on the court and I believe we did just that. Playing in Pittsburgh was special for this group and I love how we competed at a high level. This one was for Hailey and Kenzie!"
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Stony Brook started the game off from efficient shooting, making 40 percent of its shots while holding Pitt to just 17.5 percent.
• Zeise gave the team its first lead midway through the first quarter, converting a four-point play as she was fouled from behind the arc.
• Heading into the second half with a three-point advantage, the Seawolves put the hammer down in the third, outscoring the Panthers by 10 to lead as much as 13 after graduate student G Kaela Hilaire (Queens, N.Y.) hit a jump shot off the fast break with three seconds left in the quarter.
• Pitt showed resiliency in the fourth, cutting its lead down to as little as two with 41 seconds remaining. 
• With 2:18 left in the game, sophomore G Anastasia Warren (Atlanta, Ga.) hit a clutch three to put the team up, 56-50 as Pitt was in the middle of its run.
• The Panthers had one last chance to tie the game and send it to overtime as a Pitt player took a three-point shot with seconds left on the clock but it hit the rim and fell off the mark to give Stony Brook the win.

 
NOTES

• Hilaire joined Zeise and Bushee in double figures with 11 points to go along with five assists, two rebounds and one steal.
• She has now earned double-digits in points in eight out of nine games this season.
• Twenty Stony Brook points were earned in the paint while 16 came off of Pitt turnovers.
• The Seawolves bench also put up 17.
• Bushee went 4-6 to earn her 10 points while Zeise also added in a season-high four assists and four rebounds to her stat line.
• Stony Brook is now 8-1 on the season and has won its last five in a row.

 
UP NEXT
Stony Brook hits the road in one week's time for a meeting with Wagner on Staten Island. Action is set to begin at 1 p.m next Sunday.
 
Don't miss your chance to see the Seawolves take on Bucknell when they return home to the Island Federal Arena on Sunday, Dec. 29 for a double-header with the men's team. All of the action is set to begin at 2 p.m.