STONY BROOK, N.Y. — The accomplishments keep piling up for the Stony Brook women's basketball team.
So do the dramatic finishes.
The Seawolves, already owners of the nation's longest winning streak, matched the program record for victories by defeating Binghamton, 58-54, on Wednesday night.
After Binghamton overcame an 11-point third-quarter deficit to pull even,
India Pagan produced a steal and
Kaela Hilaire then drained a tiebreaking three-pointer with 35.9 seconds remaining in the game and the Seawolves held on.
Hilaire's two free throws with 10.7 seconds to go sealed the win.
"India made a great pass. She was getting doubled the whole game," Hilaire said about her tiebreaking three-pointer in the final minute. "I expected her to make another good pass in crunch time. I just happened to make the shot."
Win No. 24 equaled the 1986-87 squad for the most in program history.
Stony Brook (24-1, 12-0 America East) earned its 21st straight victory.
The win came on Play4Kay and Spread Respect Night at Island Federal Arena as the university community championed combating cancers affecting women and underscored its commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Wednesday's victory marked the second straight riveting finish for Stony Brook.
On Saturday, Hilaire had two steals in the final 20 seconds to hold off New Hampshire, 52-50.
Against Binghamton, Stony Brook had taken a 37-26 lead thanks to a 12-1 third-quarter run that included consecutive jumpers from Pagan, Hilaire and
Anastasia Warren, then three-pointers from
Hailey Zeise and Warren.
However, Binghamton rallied to grab a 51-49 lead in the fourth quarter, fueled by back-to-back three-pointers from Hailey Moore.
The Seawolves then responded with the late-game dramatics.
Hilaire recorded a team-high 17 points. She also had five assists to move into the top 10 in a single season in program history with 116. She passed Mykeema Ford, who had 113 during the 2006-07 season.
Shania Johnson set the program record last season with 228.
Meanwhile, with five offensive rebounds on Wednesday,
Cheyenne Clark moved into the top 10 in program history for a career (220) and to No. 8 in a single season (107). Her 113 in 2018-19 rank fourth in a single season in program history.
Clark had 15 total rebounds in Wednesday's victory.
The Seawolves swept the season series from Binghamton (16-8, 5-6 AE). Stony Brook traveled upstate and defeated the Bearcats, 67-60, on Jan. 22.
After a conference bye, the Seawolves return to action next Wednesday at Vermont.
As for matching the program record for victories, coach
Caroline McCombs said: "When we can look back, we'll try to look at those things and celebrate them a little bit more. Right now, we're just focused on having a bye week No. 1, getting healthy and then our next opponent."
