STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The Stony Brook women's basketball team (13-8, 7-3 CAA) was narrowly edged by Drexel (17-5, 9-2 CAA), 66-65, in a thriller at Island Federal Arena on Sunday afternoon. The Seawolves and Dragons battled back-and-forth down the stretch with the lead changing hands four times over the final 2:11 of the game.
Ultimately, Drexel took the final lead of the game with 27 seconds to play when graduate guard Keishana Washington connected on a jumper that put the Dragons ahead by what would be the final score, 66-65. Washington, the nation's third leading scorer recorded 40 points en route to the win for the Dragons.
The Seawolves were paced by the trio of sophomore forward
Sherese Pittman, graduate guard
Daishai Almond, and junior guard
Shamarla King who all scored in double figures. Pittman led Stony Brook as she recorded a near double-double with a team-high 19 points and nine rebounds.
Stony Brook used a big second quarter to take a 37-34 lead at the halftime break. The Seawolves outscored the Dragons, 22-15, in the second quarter and used a 12-2 run to close the frame. Pittman fueled Stony Brook over the first 20 minutes of the contest as she scored 15 of here 19 points and grabbed six rebounds in the first half.
The Seawolves locked in defensively in the third quarter as they limited Drexel to 10 points on 4-of-18 shooting (22.2%) and took a 49-44 lead into the fourth.
The final quarter of action featured a thrilling back-and-forth finish, with the Dragons coming away with the upper hand. With 2:11 to play senior guard
Gigi Gonzalez drilled a jump shot to put the Seawolves out in front, 63-62.
After the Dragons and Seawolves traded possessions, Washington put Drexel back in the driver's seat, 64-63, with 49 seconds to play. Pittman came through in the clutch for Stony Brook as she knocked down a pair of crucial free-throws with 31 seconds to go to put the Seawolves back up 65-64.
Washington's final bucket with 27 seconds remaining in the game proved to be the game-winner.
STATS AND NOTES
- Pittman led the squad with 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds in her 39 minutes of play this afternoon. It was the second time this season that Pittman played 39 or more minutes (40 minutes played against High Point on Nov. 23, 2022).
- Almond tallied 14 points and collected five rebounds. The graduate dished out four assists which marked a new high in any CAA contest this season for her.
- King shot 4-of-6 from the field for 11 points and grabbed five rebounds. The Connecticut native dished out two assists and had a career-high three steals. It was the third game in a row that King scored in double figures.
- Warren captured seven points, two rebounds, and two assists. The graduate tied the Stony Brook three-point record for a career after knocking down a deep shot with 3:50 left in the fourth quarter. The three-point record for a career was set by Shania Johnson who tallied 191 made threes from 2017-19.
- In her eight minutes of action, freshman guard Lauren Filien gave the squad two crucial blocks, which marked a new career-best and she also scored three points.
- The Seawolves outscored Drexel 34-26 in the paint.
- It was the 16th time this year that Stony Brook tallied 10 or more assists
- The squad moves to 7-4 in day games and 2-2 in games that are played on Sunday.
- Stony Brook is now 9-2 this season at The Island and 66-15 since the 2017-18 season. Also, Stony Brook has held 66 of their last 96 opponents under their season points per game average since 2019.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
NEXT UP
Stony Brook hits the road for a mid-week matchup with Northeastern on Thursday, February 9, at 7 p.m. The meeting between the Seawolves and Huskies marks the first for the teams since December 6, 2008. Stony Brook is 5-5 all-time against Northeastern.
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