WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. -- Khari Clark scored a career-high 30 points to help lead the Stony Brook women's basketball team over the Monmouth Hawks 78-62 on the road Sunday.
The Seawolves (18-2, 8-1) had three players score in double figures, led by Clark, who had 30 points and six rebounds. Sherese Pittman added 18 points and six rebounds and Gigi Gonzalez helped out with 17 points and five assists.
Stony Brook out-rebounded Monmouth 39-32, with eight different players grabbing at least one boards. Led by Clark's four offensive rebounds, Stony Brook did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 13 boards that resulted in 16 second-chance points. Stony Brook's defense also forced 20 Monmouth turnovers which turned into 24 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After falling behind 16-6 in the first, Stony Brook went on a 9-0 run with 2:30 left in the first quarter, highlighted by King's five points in the stretch to narrow its deficit to 16-15 after 10 minutes.
A three from Clark at 7:45 of the second quarter gave Stony Brook its first lead at 22-20 and the Seawolves took the lead for good at 26-24, enjoying a six-point, 37-31 halftime advantage. Stony Brook scored seven of its 22 total points in the period on second-chance opportunities, pulling down three offensive rebounds. Clark was dominating in the first half by finishing 7-of-11 from the field with 17 points.
Following intermission, Stony Brook continued to expand its advantage, pushing it's lead to 52-38 before going on a 10-0 run, punctuated by a three from Victoria Keenan, to expand its lead further to 62-38 with 2:24 to go in the third. The Seawolves won the quarter 31-12 to take a 68-43 lead after three. Stony Brook had success near the basket, scoring 16 of its 31 points in the paint.
Monmouth was able to cut the lead to 13 in the fourth, but the Seawolves ultimately cruised to the 78-62 final results. Stony Brook took advantage of its opportunities in the post, scoring eight of its 10 points in the paint.
STATS AND NOTES
- The 31 points in the third quarter was the most in a period for the Seawolves this season, and marked Stony Brook's first 30-point quarter since Nov. 24, 2021 when it scored 32 in the fourth at Columbia.
- Clark's 30-point output ties a season high in points for a Stony Brook player this season, matching Gigi Gonzalez' 30 points at Towson on Feb. 12.
- Sunday was the fifth time this season Clark tallied at least 20 points in a game.
- The Stony Brook defense forced 20 turnovers, a +10 ratio for the game. Sunday was the third time this season an opponent had at least 20 miscues.
- Stony Brook recorded 17 total assists in the game and averaged 18.0 assists/game for the weekend.
- Clark, Pittman, Gonzalez combined to account for 83 percent of the Seawolves' points.
- Stony Brook recorded a +7 rebounding margin, out-rebounding its opponent for the 15th time this year.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
"The atmosphere at Monmouth today was great," said head coach Ashley Langford. "I love to see people supporting women's basketball. I'm really happy with how focused we were on the defensive end. All of our players were locked into the scout and executed the game plan well."
UP NEXT
The Seawolves return to the court on Friday night when they host Towson for their second meeting of the season, beginning at 6:31 p.m. Stony Brook defeated Towson on Jan. 12, 77-65, in Maryland.
