STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The Stony Brook women's basketball team (7-5, 1-0 CAA) claimed its first-ever conference win as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association, with its 89-61 victory over William & Mary (5-7, 0-1 CAA) on Friday night at Island Federal Arena. It was Stony Brook's largest margin of victory this season as it was paced by five student-athlete scoring in double figures.
With a second and a half remaining in the first quarter, and the score tied at 16-16, senior point guard
Gigi Gonzalez inbounded the ball from under the basket. Gonzalez lobbed an alley-oop up to sophomore forward
Sherese Pittman, who caught the ball and finished a floater, all while being in mid-air. The Seawolves went up 18-16 and never looked back, leading for the remainder of the game.
Pittman scored 10 points in her first 10 minutes on the floor and finished the game with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting and went 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. Pittman pulled down seven rebounds and totaled three steals and two blocks.
Stony Brook came out of the halftime break red-hot. The Seawolves started the second half on an 8-0 run, jumping out to a 45-33 lead. Gonzalez and graduate guard
Anastasia Warren combined for all eight points.
About halfway through the third quarter, Gonzalez backed up well behind the three-point line with the ball in her hands and nailed a long three-pointer to put Stony Brook up 52-37.
Stony Brook headed into the fourth quarter up by 12 points and built on its lead in the final 10 minutes.
The Seawolves' defense stifled the Tribe and the offense put forth its best output in a quarter all season, cementing their first-ever CAA victory, outscoring the Tribe, 27-11, in the frame and, 52-27, in the second half.
STATS AND NOTES
- Gonzalez led the way with 17 points, going 6-of-12 from the field, 2-of-2 from three-point range, and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. She dished out seven assists for the third-straight game, which tied her season-high, and pulled down five rebounds. She has scored in double figures in four-straight games.
- Warren finished the game with 16 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Graduate guard Daishai Almond totaled a Stony Brook career-high 16 points and shot 6-of-11 from the field, to go along with three assists and two rebounds.
- Pittman scored 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor and pulled down seven rebounds. The sophomore has scored in double figures in four games in a row.
- Junior guard Kelis Corley also reached double figures, with a season-high 10 points, four rebounds, career-high two blocks, and season-high two steals.
- The Seawolves had five scorers reach double figures in a game for the first time this season. It marked the first time since November 24, 2021, at Columbia that Stony Brook had five student-athletes score in double-digits.
- Freshman forward Lauren Filien scored her first points as a Seawolf with a three-pointer in the fourth quarter.
- The 28-point victory marked the largest margin of victory for the Seawolves this season. It was the largest win since Stony Brook beat NJIT by 38 points on February 5, 2022.
- Stony Brook's 89 points were a season-high and the most it scored in a game since scoring 95 against Hartford on February 19, 2022.
- The Seawolves shot 52 percent from the field, 50 percent from three-point range, and 84 percent from the free-throw line.
- Stony Brook outrebounded the Tribe, 43-31.
- The Seawolves outscored William & Mary in the paint, 40-24.
- Stony Brook led for nearly the entire game, holding the lead for 37:20.
- Stony Brook improved to 6-0 when Warren and Gonzalez both score in double figures this season.
- The Seawolves improved to 5-1 at Island Federal Arena this season.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
NEXT UP
Stony Brook hits the road to take on its Long Island rival Hofstra on Sunday, January 1. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. and the game will broadcast live on FloHoops. It marks the first time that the teams will go head-to-head since December 14, 2020, when the Seawolves earned a 63-52 victory. Stony Brook has won each of the last four games against Hofstra dating back to 2017-18.
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