Stony Brook graduate guard Kaela Hilare on offense against Wagner Seahawks junior guard Alayesha Daley. Hilare led the game with 23 points and seven assists. Photo Credit: JIM HARRISON- STONY BROOK ATHLETICS
by Kenneth Fermin
Stony Brook Women’s Basketball has lived up to the high expectations set upon them after being predicted to finish second in the America East Conference. The program picked up its second-ever victory over a Power 5 team in the 59-56 road win over Pittsburgh on Sunday, Dec. 8, extending their winning streak to five games. The Seawolves fed off that momentum on Sunday, Dec. 15 in Staten Island, N.Y., topping the Wagner Seahawks, 66-45.
The Seawolves improved their overall record to 9-1 for the second consecutive year and earned their fifth double-digit win this season. Stony Brook’s offense ran through graduate guard Kaela Hilaire, who’s quarterbacking set up space on the floor to attack. Hilare was in the zone from the opening tip and led the game with 23 points and dished out seven of Stony Brook’s 11 assists.
Despite being the most dominant force on the court, the guard was more focused on getting the victory over the best stats.
“I had no idea,” Hilaire said in a press release. “It’s easier to keep track in our own gym. I pay tribute to my team always. They found me a lot today behind the line.”
Hilaire also knocked down five shots from behind the arc, including the Seawolves’ first three points that foreshadowed the tempo of the game. Stony Brook connected on four three-point shots and sunk over 63 percent of its first quarter attempts, including the mid-range jumper from sophomore guard Anastasia Warren for the 23-10 lead.
Wagner’s closest chance at mounting a comeback came in a sloppy second quarter, after it closed out on a 13-6 run. Both teams went a combined 4-24 on field goal attempts and committed 13 turnovers in the second. Seahawks’ freshman forward Katrice Jackson converted fouls from Seawolves forwards India Pagan and Kina Smith into four points, cutting the deficit to 29-23.
Hilaire turned the tide for Stony Brook by swishing the first shot of the third quarter and swiping the ball on back-to-back Wagner possessions, before finding Pagan inside for the score. The graduate recorded 10 points in the quarter as the team carried a 50-35 lead into the fourth quarter.
Stony Book’s defense clamped down on Wagner in the fourth quarter, limiting the Seahawks to 25 percent shooting. The Seawolves played a clean quarter by not committing a foul, with redshirt-junior Oksana Gouchie-Provencher’s block putting an exclamation point on the victory.
“We had a letdown in the second quarter, but came out strong in the third and fourth quarters,” Stony Brook head coach Caroline McCombs said. “Going on the road you always have to weather the storm and fight through adversity, which I think we did today.”
Pagan and junior forward Jonae Cox combined for 23 points while Stony Brook finished with 13 steals, defensively. Gouchie-Provencher also moved into tenth place in program history with 57 career blocks. Wagner junior forward Kaleah Edwards led her team with 14 points and seven rebounds.
Stony Brook’s next pair of games will take place outside of the states for the first time in program history. The Seawolves will take part in the ‘Puerto Rico Classic’ from Friday, Dec. 20 to Sunday, Dec. 22. The trip will be especially significant for Pagan, who returns after representing the National Puerto Rico Basketball Federation in the Pan American Games and FIBA AmeriCup earlier this year.
The Seawolves will battle against Morgan State in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Friday, Dec. 20 at 1:30 p.m.
