Stony Brook Women’s Basketball celebrating after the victory over Bucknell on Sunday, Dec. 29. The Seawolves hold the NCAA’s second longest-active winning streak at 14 after the 66-55 win over Hartford on Wednesday, Jan 15. PHOTO CREDIT- JIM HARRISON STONY BROOK ATHLETICS
by Kenneth Fermin
The high tide always comes around when a team is riding the wave of momentum, much like Stony Brook Basketball. Both teams faced different levels of challengers on Wednesday, January 15– Women’s Basketball taking on the winless Hartford Hawks while Men’s Basketball battling a gritty, 2-0 in America East play, Hartford team. Women’s Basketball dispatched Hartford 66-55 at Island Federal Arena, improving to 17-1 on the season. But, Men’s Basketball fell too deep and lost 68-65 in West Hartford, CT, snapping a five-game winning streak.
Stony Brook 66 (17-1; 5-0), Hartford 55 (0-18; 0-4)
Winning was never really in doubt for Stony Brook, one of the NCAA’s most dominant teams, after pulling away with a 15-5 run in the first quarter. But for the Seawolves, this contest was more about gaining retribution from last year’s mistakes than remaining unbeaten. As junior forward Hailey Zeise put it– this one was personal.
“It left a bad taste in our mouths when they knocked us out of the [2019 America East Championship] tournament,” Zeise said in a postgame press conference. “Not trying to look in the past, but it’s really important because that one meant a lot to me personally, and I know [also for] the returnees.”
Hartford may have eliminated Stony Brook in the conference Semifinals last season, but the team is a fraction of its former self today. Several key players are no longer on the roster– five due to graduation and two due to transferring– and the coaching staff received a makeover after the loss to Providence in the WNIT Tournament in March 2019. Now with a new head coach and a team mostly comprised of underclasswomen and transfers, The Hawks had little time to counter the experienced-Seawolves from outperforming them.
Zeise, sophomore guard Anastasia Warren and junior forward India Pagan, who all played in last season’s playoff loss, earned double-digit scores in the victory. Zeise was the game’s best shooter behind the arc by knocking down all three of her attempts while Warren and Pagan crashed the paint for buckets, scoring 11 and 14 points, respectively. The Seawolves found 32 points inside and scored 16 off 15 Hawks turnovers.
Although the second quarter has been Stony Brook’s cold spot over the last month, Seawolves’ shooting was at its hottest before the end of the first half. The team knocked down a game-high 60 percent of its field goal attempts and entered halftime up 26-19. The Seawolves fed off that momentum and outscored the Hawks 20-11 in the third quarter.
“We had a pretty good first half,” Head Coach Caroline McCombs said. “I thought we were able to rebound it and push the ball in transition for easy baskets. That’s something we’ve been talking about.”
Stony Brook will travel to Albany, N.Y. to face off against the UAlbany Great Danes on Saturday, Jan. 18. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN3.
Hartford 68 (10-8; 3-0), Stony Brook 65 (12-7; 3-1)
It’s hard trying to erase a double-digit deficit in sports– with NCAA Basketball being no exception. Now factor in trying to mount a comeback without two defensive anchors and only two and a half minutes to go, and a comeback becomes insurmountable. Stony Brook felt the brunt end of this, falling to the Hartford Hawks and losing its first contest in 2020 and conference play.
Stony Brook was without junior forwards Andrew Garcia and Jeff Otchere for the final 2:32 of the matchup due to foul trouble. The referees were whistle-heavy throughout the entire contest and called 21 personal fouls on each team. This resulted in a combined 47 free throw opportunities for both teams.
Junior forward Elijah Olaniyi tied up the contest at 62 by converting a free throw, but Hartford graduate forward Malik Ellison knocked down a jump shot inside with 48 seconds left. After Ellison swished a free throw that extended the lead to three points, the Hawks opted to foul Olaniyi on the inbound with eight ticks remaining. This worked in the Hawks favor as Olaniyi made the first but was forced to miss the second and battle for the rebound, which he could not do, securing Hartford’s win.
“We had a really tough night shooting the ball,” Head Coach Geno Ford said in a press release. “Down the stretch, they made all the winning plays. Ellison made some tough shots and we had several empty possessions down the stretch.”
Much of Stony Brook’s cold shooting came in the first half, which saw the Seawolves only knock down nine field goals through the first 20 minutes. Hartford ended the opening half on a 17-6 run and carried a 36-25 lead into the locker room.
The Seawolves turned things around midway through the second half by going on a 16-3 run, taking a 53-50 lead with eight minutes remaining. Olaniyi was responsible for much of Stony Brook’s offense with a game-high 22 points, and paced both teams with 11 boards. Redshirt-junior guard Makale Foreman led the game with five makes from behind the arc, the fifth time in six games he accomplished this feat.
Stony Brook will return home to Island Federal Arena to battle the UAlbany Great Danes on Saturday, Jan. 18. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
