TOWSON, Md. – The Stony Brook women's basketball team (18-12, 11-7 CAA) used a second half surge to power past Elon (9-21, 5-13 CAA), 54-51, en route to its first-ever win in the CAA Championship. The Seawolves erased a 16-point third quarter deficit to defeat the Phoenix and advance to the CAA Tournament quarterfinals and will take on the number three seeded Northeastern Huskies tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.
Stony Brook trailed Elon, 41-25, with 3:51 to play in the third quarter. From that point forward, the Seawolves outscored the Phoenix, 29-10, over the remainder of the game and won by the final score of 54-51.
The Seawolves closed the third quarter on a 13-0 run that was fueled by graduate guard
Anastasia Warren who scored seven of the 13 points over the scoring clip and cut the Elon lead to 41-38 at the end of the third quarter.
Stony Brook continued its pressure on the defensive end as the fourth quarter began. For the game, the Seawolves forced 23 turnovers, the third-most they forced in a game this season. Stony Brook forced 12 of Elon's 23 turnovers in the second half with six coming in each the third and fourth quarters, respectively.
The Seawolves tied the game up at 43-43 with 3:57 to play on a three-point play by
Daishai Almond. Stony Brook then took the lead with 2:25 to play in the game when senior guard
Gigi Gonzalez converted a driving layup to put Stony Brook up 46-45. Junior guard
Shamarla King upped the lead to 48-45 with 58 seconds to go when she knocked down a jumper.
Stony Brook closed out the game at the free-throw line and secured the 54-51 victory and its first-ever CAA Tournament win. The Seawolves were paced by a trio of scorers who finished the game in double figures. Gonzalez led the way with 17 points, Warren finished the game with 15 points, and King totaled 10 points.
STATS AND NOTES
- Gonzalez led all scorers with a game-high 17 points on 6-of-16 shooting from the field. The guard grabbed five rebounds, swiped four steals, and dished out two assists. It marked the 17th time this season that she finished a game scoring in double-digits.
- Warren poured in 15 points on 5-of-14 shooting and pulled down eight rebounds. Warren has scored in double figures in eight out of the Seawolves' last nine games and her eight rebounds were a season-high.
- King registered 10 points and pulled down a pair of rebounds, while Almond scored six points and pulled down seven boards.
- The win was the Seawolves' 18th of the season, and it marked the 13th time in program history that Stony Brook has won at least 18 games in a campaign. The Seawolves have won 18 or more games in five out of the last six seasons.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
NEXT UP
Stony Brook is back in action tomorrow when it goes head-to-head with No. 3 Northeastern at 7:30 p.m. in the quarterfinals of the CAA Tournament. It marks the second time that the teams will go head-to-head this season and the first time since the Huskies picked up a 68-63 victory on February 9. The game is set to broadcast on FloHoops.
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