Junior forward India Pagan battles for a rebound against the Morgan State Bears on Friday, Dec. 20 in San Juan, P.R. Pagan shined for the Seawolves by scoring 26 points and grabbing 21 boards over the weekend. PHOTO CREDIT: JIM HARRISON-STONY BROOK ATHLETICS
by Kenneth Fermin
Stony Brook Women’s Basketball could not have picked a better time to showcase its talents, internationally. The team was 9-1 overall for the second-straight season and on a six-game winning streak, fresh off wins over Power 5 team Pittsburgh and intrastate foe Wagner. The Seawolves were eager to produce two victories off the momentum of their nearly-flawless start to the 2019-20 season, entering the ‘Puerto Rico Clasico’ in San Juan, P.R.
The Seawolves ended up being the shining stars of the tournament, defeating the Morgan State Bears, 63-56, on Friday, Dec. 20, and the Western Michigan Broncos, 60-57, on Sunday, Dec. 22. The team is off to its best start in program history since moving up to Division I play in 1999.
Junior forward India Pagan was one of the standout players of the tournament, fittingly enough. Pagan- a member of the National Puerto Rico Basketball Federation- is no stranger to playing in San Juan. The forward represented Puerto Rico at this year’s Pan American Games and the FIBA AmeriCup, which took place in San Juan.
Pagan was locked in from the tournament’s opening tip, earning her second collegiate double-double on Friday and finishing with 26 points and 21 rebounds. The junior, returning to Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez for the first time since practicing on it earlier this summer, was honored to represent her team and island well entering the tournament.
“I’m so excited and it means so much to be able to play on the same court with my Stony Brook family that I do with my Puerto Rico family,” Pagan said heading into the tournament. “It has been a great experience, I gained new friends and family through this journey and learned a lot about myself and my game throughout the process.”
Pagan commanded the production on both ends of the floor during Friday afternoon’s contest against the Morgan State Bears with a dominating presence in the paint. The junior converted her free throws starting off the second, after the slumping Seawolves’ gave up nine unanswered points in the last half of the first quarter and fell behind, 17-11. Despite missing four field-goal opportunities, the forward led both teams in scoring by sinking all eight of her first half free-throw attempts.
The junior utilized her 6-foot-1 frame by grabbing rebounds over Morgan State defenders and starting fast breaks as well. Pagan converted boards into assists by finding graduate duard Kaela Hilaire inside for a layup and dishing the ball to junior forward Hailey Zeise for a three-point basket on the next possession, giving Stony Brook the 28-25 lead with a minute to go before halftime. The foward’s eight rebounds gave the Seawolves a significant 24-14 advantage in the department heading into halftime.
Morgan State was not out despite being rocked and turned things around off senior guard Jihayah Chavis’ quick-time reactions. Chavis efficiently intercepted two Stony Brook passes and contributed to six points for the Bears off steals, assists, and a free throw make. Her impact sparked a 10-2 run in Morgan State’s favor which was capped off by freshman guard Ja’Niah Henson’s mid-range basket for the 41-38 lead, midway through the third quarter.
Turnovers were a big factor in keeping the contest close. Stony Brook turned the ball over 23 times with 18 of them coming off Morgan State steals. Chavis led the contest with seven pick-pockets and moved into the top 30 nationally in steals, with 30 this season.
The turning point of the contest came off of free throws as both teams battled getting to the line. Although both combined for 42 total chances at the charity-stripe, Morgan State only capitalized on 45 percent of their free throws overall. Meanwhile, Stony Brook sank 19 of its 22 opportunities at the line, including two from junior guard Victoria Johnson that gave her team the 47-44 lead after three.
Stony Brook used the effectiveness inside the arc to its advantage, turning to Johnson and Hilaire for scoring, closing out the contest. Hilare’s free-throw makes put the finishing touches while redshirt-junior Oksana Gouchie-Provencher’s block put an exclamation point on the Seawolves first program-victory outside the states.
Pagan began the Stony Brook scoring again, but the team soon found itself without another leading scorer. Hilaire went down with an apparent foot injury three minutes into Sunday’s game against Western Michigan. The guard missed the remainder of the game and no injury update has been provided as of now.
Stony Brook found scoring outlets in its guards, Johnson and freshman guard Gigi Gonzalez— who subbed in for Hilare– after trailing 12-8 in the first quarter. Johnson capitalized off a dish and fastbreak started by Pagan with back-to-back three point splashes in the second quarter. The Seawolves finished the quarter with 10 unanswered points and took the 23-20 lead into halftime.
Both teams traded the lead in the third quarter, but Pagan and Johnson combined for the last nine Seawolves’ points for the 39-33 lead. The Broncos battled back once again starting the fourth quarter and cut their deficit back to one, midway through the fourth.
Johnson caught the hot hand and could not be stopped, shooting 50 percent and knocking down four free throws in the second half. The guard converted an incredible off-balance last second shot that gave Stony Brook the extension it needed for the victory. The junior finished with a Division I collegiate high 21 points while Pagan earned 10 points and eight boards.
Stony Brook will close out its non-conference slate by hosting the Bucknell Bison, the reigning Patriot League Champions, on Sunday, Dec. 29 at Island Federal Arena in Stony Brook, N.Y. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and will broadcast on ESPN3 and WUSB 90.1 F.M.
