WILLIAMSBURG, VA --The Stony Brook women's basketball team closed the regular season by rallying back from a 10-point third quarter deficit to defeat the William & Mary Tribe 74-68 on the road on Saturday.
The Seawolves (25-3, 16-2) had three players score in double figures, led by Gigi Gonzalez, who had 22 points, eight rebounds and four steals. Sherese Pittman tacked on a double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds and Khari Clark chipped in as well with 12 points and two steals.
The Stony Brook defense forced 19 William and Mary turnovers which turned into 22 points on the other end of the floor, led by Gonzalez's four takeaways.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Stony Brook started out the scoring by going on a 5-0 run to take an early lead with 7:18 left in the first quarter. The Tribe out-scored the Seawolves 16-7 the rest of the way to take a 16-12 lead at the end of the first.
Down 18-12, Stony Brook went on a 6-0 run, highlighted by a bucket from Gonzalez, to tie the game at 18. William & Mary then re-took control with a 16-9 spurt the rest of the quarter, putting the Seawolves at a 34-27 disadvantage heading into halftime.
William & Mary continued to increase its lead after halftime, building a 51-38 advantage before Stony Brook went on a 10-0 run, punctuated by a three from Victoria Keenan, to trim its deficit to 51-48 with 1:20 to go in the third. Stony Brook's bench totaled eight of the team's 23 third-quarter points.
Trailing 54-50 after three, Stony Brook narrowed its deficit to 60-58 to start the fourth before going on a 10-0 run over 4:15, finished off by Pittman's jumper, to seize a 68-60 lead with 1:45 to go in the contest. The Seawolves' lead was never less than four the rest of the way. Stony Brook took advantage of its opportunities in the post, scoring 16 of its 24 points in the paint in the fourth.
STATS AND NOTES
- In her last five games, Pittman is averaging 21.0 points and 11.4 rebounds per game, including back-to-back games with 14 rebounds.
- Stony Brook won its fifth game this season in which it trailed at the half.
- The Seawolves held the Tribe to only 38.8 percent shooting from the field.
- The Stony Brook defense forced 19 turnovers. The squad is 9-1 this season when they force at least 19 turnovers.
- This included a season-high 14 steals.
- The Seawolves tallied 10 assists in the win, and recorded double-digit assists in every game of the regular season.
- During SBU's eight-game winning streak, Stony Brook has not allowed a three-point percentage over 26%.
- Stony Brook now ranks top-six in the NCAA in winning percentage (6th), defensive rebounds per game (5th), three-point defense (2nd) and field goal percentage defense (2nd).
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
"I'm very pleased with our second-half effort today," said Head Coach Ashley Langford. "I thought we overcame adversity and executed offensively and defensively at the end of the game."
UP NEXT
The Seawolves set their sights on the CAA Women's Basketball Championship next week in Washington, D.C. Top-seeded Stony Brook will open play in the quarterfinals on Friday, March 15 at 12 p.m.
2024 CAA Women's Basketball Championship presented by Primis
First Round – Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Game 1: #12 Hampton vs. #13 Hofstra – 2 p.m. (FloHoops)
Game 2: #11 Northeastern vs. #14 UNCW – 4:30 p.m. (FloHoops)
Second Round – Thursday, March 14, 2024
Game 3: #8 Campbell vs. #9 Elon – 12 p.m. (FloHoops)
Game 4: #5 William & Mary vs. Game 1 winner – 2:30 p.m. (FloHoops)
Game 5: #7 Drexel vs. #10 Delaware – 5 p.m. (FloHoops)
Game 6: #6 Towson vs. Game 2 winner – 7:30 p.m. (FloHoops)
Quarterfinals – Friday, March 15, 2024
Game 7: #1 Stony Brook vs. Game 3 winner – 12 p.m. (FloHoops)
Game 8: #4 North Carolina A&T vs. Game 4 winner – 2:30 p.m. (FloHoops)
Game 9: #2 Monmouth vs. Game 5 winner – 5 p.m. (FloHoops)
Game 10: #3 Charleston vs. Game 6 winner – 7:30 p.m. (FloHoops)
Semifinals – Saturday, March 16, 2024
Game 11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner – 2 p.m. (FloHoops)
Game 12: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner – 4:30 p.m. (FloHoops)
Championship – Sunday, March 17, 2024
Game 13: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner – 2 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
