CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Stony Brook women's basketball team got a 22-point showing from the bench, but fell 79-62 to the No. 4 Illinois Fighting Illini on the road Sunday in the second round of the WBIT.
The Seawolves end their historic season with 28 wins, tying a program record, their first-ever postseason win in program history, a CAA Regular Season Championship and first appearance in a CAA Tournament championship game.
Stony Brook (28-5) had four players score in double figures, led by Gigi Gonzalez, who had 13 points and five assists. Khari Clark added 12 points and Shamarla King chipped in as well with 12 points, eight rebounds and two steals off the bench. Led by King's three offensive rebounds, Stony Brook did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 11 boards that resulted in eight second-chance points.
The squad forced 18 Illinois turnovers, turning those takeaways into 13 points on the offensive end of the floor. King's two steals led the way for Stony Brook.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Seawolves and Fighting Illini battled back and forth to begin the game. With 6:12 left to go in the frame, Gigi Gonzalez made a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 8-7. After a run by Illinios, King tallied a three-pointer at 2:59 to make the score 16-17. However, Illinios stormed back on a 10-0 run to end the quarter with the 27-16 advantage.
After trailing 45-26 into the half, Illinois continued to increase its lead after the break, building a 64-39 advantage before Stony Brook went on a 7-0 run, punctuated by a three from Victoria Keenan, to trim its deficit to 64-46 with 1:55 to go in the third. Illinois countered and stretched its lead to 70-48 heading into the fourth. Stony Brook's bench made the most of its minutes in the period, as non-starters totaled seven of the team's 22 third-quarter points.
The road team kept widening its lead in the fourth, constructing a 74-51 advantage before Stony Brook went on a 9-0 run to shrink the deficit to 74-60 with 5:31 to go in the contest. Illinois responded and outscored the Seawolves the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 79-62. Stony Brook took advantage of eight Illinois turnovers in the quarter, scoring seven points off of those takeaways.
STATS AND NOTES
- The Stony Brook bench made an impact by adding 22 points to its scoring output compared to the eight by Illinois.
- Stony Brook shot 100% (11-of-11) from the line. It was the second time this season that they shot 100% from the line (4-of-4 against Minnesota on Nov. 26, 2023).
- The Stony Brook defense forced 18 turnovers.
- Four players scored in double-figures this afternoon (G. Gonzalez, Clark, Pittman and King).
- Stony Brook cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 11 offensive boards in the game.
- Gigi Gonzalez led the Seawolves with 13 points. She has double-figures in 30 of 33 games this season.
- Stony Brook got a team-high eight rebounds from King. It was the 10th time this season that she reached eight rebounds in a game this season.
- Stony Brook is now 0-1 all-time against Illinois.
- The Seawolves tied their program record with 28 wins this season (2019-2020).
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