DURHAM, N.H. — The Stony Brook women's basketball did not panic at halftime against New Hampshire on Saturday afternoon. After all, the Seawolves found themselves in a familiar position.
For the fourth straight game to begin America East play, Stony Brook trailed at halftime. And for the fourth straight game, the Seawolves rallied after the break to earn a victory.
This time it required overtime.
Saturday's eventual result: Stony Brook 53, New Hampshire 44.
A career-high 24 points from
Anastasia Warren helped the Seawolves survive the Wildcats' upset bid.
"It was a great game and we really had to come together and grind it out," Warren said. "We started out slow, so I thought that if I knocked down some shots, we would get some momentum to carry us forward."
India Pagan opened the extra period's scoring with consecutive layups for a four-point lead and New Hampshire never posted a point in overtime.
With the victory, the Seawolves (16-1, 4-0 AE) extended the longest winning streak in the program's Division I era to 13 games.
It is tied for the third-longest active streak in the NCAA this season.
UCLA and Oregon State both sit at 15-0, while Gonzaga also has won 13 straight entering its game later Saturday.
"Coaches are going to prepare their teams as best as possible throughout league play, so we have to be ready," Stony Brook coach
Caroline McCombs said. "Some days you're not going to have great shooting nights, so we will rely on our defense."
Warren's career-high performance came on 10-for-14 shooting from the field.
With Stony Brook trailing by four points and less than three minutes remaining in regulation, Pagan hit a jumper in the paint,
Cheyenne Clark added a free throw and Warren drained a three-pointer for a 44-42 lead. New Hampshire (4-12, 1-3 AE) evened the game at 44 on a jumper from Helena Delaruelle with 56 seconds to go and the teams ultimately headed to overtime with that score intact.
"Annie was fantastic today," McCombs said. "She was really the difference. She made big plays down the stretch when we needed them. Her growth and development in our program has been awesome."
Stony Brook had more turnovers (6) than points (5) after one quarter. Fortunately for the Seawolves, they trailed only 9-5 after the opening period.
The deficit eventually swelled to six points before Stony Brook clawed back.
Stony Brook took the lead on a three-pointer from Warren with 3:17 remaining in the second quarter but nonetheless trailed 17-15 at halftime and 28-27 after three quarters.
The Seawolves are now 7-1 overall when trailing at halftime — the lone loss in that situation, and overall, coming against nationally ranked Arkansas in Fayetteville on Nov. 17.
Stony Brook returns to action against Hartford on Wednesday at 6:31 p.m. at Island Federal Arena.
