SAN ANTONIO, Texas — An historical season came to a close on Monday.

In the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament game, the Stony Brook women's basketball team fell to third-seeded Arizona, 79-44, on Monday afternoon at the Alamodome.

The 14th-seeded Seawolves (15-6) had waited a year for the opportunity, after the 2019-20 season was halted on the eve of the America East title game.

"I'm just really proud of our team today to represent Stony Brook University in our first-ever NCAA appearance. It was really special," coach Caroline McCombs said. "This group has worked hard. We've persevered all year. Obviously it wasn't the outcome that we had hoped for. But I thought once we gathered ourselves, we played a strong second half. I can't say enough about how special this team is."

Employing a tenacious defense, Arizona forced the Seawolves into 11 first-quarter turnovers and built a 26-10 lead after the period.

Stony Brook had entered the game third in the nation in scoring defense at 50.7 ppg. However, the Seawolves surrendered 47 first-half points — the most in a half this season.

"The physicality of the game really was like nothing we had ever never seen," McCombs said. "Maybe Syracuse gave us a look like that this year. ... The pace of the game was pretty good as well. Definitely having a taste of playing in the NCAA Tournament, we'll be able to reflect and keep growing."

The Wildcats advance to face 11th-seeded BYU, which ousted sixth-seeded Rutgers, 69-66.

Asiah Dingle scored a team-high 14 points. Earlette Scott followed with 10 points.

India Pagan, who injured an ankle in the America East title game, healed in time to return to the court. She logged 13 minutes off the bench. Her next basketball activity is expected to come this summer when she represents Puerto Rico in the Olympics.

McCombs took a team to its first NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in her career. She led Youngstown State as a player, then Valparaiso and Pittsburgh as an assistant coach, before guiding Stony Brook to the Big Dance as a head coach this season.

"Once you get here, it becomes your standard," McCombs said. "And it's where you want to get back to every year."

Said Dingle: "I hate losing. This is going to sting for a while. But being here is just what I've always dreamed of. We'll learn from it and be here again next year. ... I'm so glad we were able to make history."