Graduate forward Cheyenne Clark performing a layup against UMass Lowell on Jan 29. Clark forced the game in to overtime by sinking free throws in the loss to Maine on Sunday, Feb. 23.
PHOTO CREDIT: JIM HARRISON- STONY BROOK ATHLETICS
Stony Brook Women’s Basketball was looking for another clutch stop after trailing by two points late, for the fourth consecutive game. Down 64-62 against Maine with 35 seconds left in overtime, it was almost expected that the Seawolves would find the answer once again, as they had all season long. They already erased an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter and forced overtime, so it seemed like a matter of when– not if– Stony Brook would get that go-ahead score.
Maine junior guard Dor Saar missed her layup and it looked like Stony Brook would somehow find a way to get another possession. But, the guard quickly grabbed her own miss, forcing Stony Brook graduate guard Kaela Hilaire to foul Sarr and stop the clock at five seconds. Hilaire was fouled out of the contest and watched from the sidelines as the Black Bears drained out the timer before the Seawolves’ even got another chance to touch the ball.
The Stony Brook team’s nation-leading 22-game winning streak ended at the hands of the reigning America East champion Maine Black Bears 64-62, Sunday afternoon in Orono, ME. Maine gave Stony Brook its first conference loss this season and its first defeat against a non-ranked opponent. The Seawolves only other loss came against the then No. 23-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks 88-58, on Sunday Nov. 17, 2019 in Fayetteville, AR.
The Seawolves held the nation’s longest winning streak across both NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball for one night. The No.4-ranked Men’s San Diego State Basketball team lost its 26-game victory stretch and first game of the season against UNLV 66-63, Saturday night. The No.1-ranked Women’s South Carolina Gamecocks program now holds the NCAA’s best record and winning streak at 27-1 with 21 consecutive victories.
Stony Brook delivered an outstanding performance just getting the game into overtime, regardless of the final result. Redshirt-senior guard Maddy McVicar’s 3-pointer handed Maine the 52-41 lead with 7:33 remaining in the game, forcing a Stony Brook timeout. Head coach Caroline McCombs could have pulled her starters from the floor and essentially end the game’s competitive nature early. Instead, she called on her team to create opportunities on both ends of the floor and erase the deficit.
The Seawolves went on a 14-3 run closing out regulation. The team trailed 55-51 with 49 seconds remaining, but graduate forward Cheyenne Clark gave her crew a second chance through great hustle. After cutting the deficit to two points, Clark grabbed an offensive rebound and drew a foul that sent her to the charity stripe. The graduate sank her first free throw, and overcame the Maine defense for another offensive rebound and free throw attempt, following the miss. This time, she converted her second free throw and pushed the game into overtime.
Although Stony Brook was victorious in its first two overtime bouts this season, the team did not have enough in the tank to stop McVicar. The senior ended the back-and-forth overtime affair by drilling a 3-point dagger through the Seawolves defense, giving the Black Bears the 62-60 advantage and the lead for good.
McVicar commanded much of the Black Bears offense throughout the contest. She created openings by sinking 3-pointers along the wing and set up the offense by grabbing defensive rebounds. The senior led the game with 28 points off 50 percent shooting and knocked down six shots from beyond the arc.
Both teams tied 11 times and traded the lead 15 times before the last buzzer sounded. Stony Brook earned 40 of its points from inside the paint and 15 off second chance opportunities. The Seawolves converted half of their shot attempts in the first and third quarter, but only knocked down four 3-pointers during the game. Junior forward India Pagan led the scoring with 15 points, followed by Hilaire with 12 and junior forward Hailey Zeise with 10.
The Maine offense focused on controlling nearly as much of its shooting inside the arc as it did from 3-point range. Ten of the Black Bears’ 24 field-goals came from downtown and the team shot 37 percent both overall and from beyond the arc.
While the loss does not change much for the Stony Brook team’s postseason outlook, it provided Maine with a significant boost. The Black Bears (10-4) took sole possession of the second seed and broke away from the UMass Lowell River Hawks (9-5) by one game. The first four seeds will host America East Quarterfinal games against its opposite-seeded counterparts ( i.e. No.1 vs. No.8), with Stony Brook already securing the top spot.
The Seawolves will wrap up their four-game road trip against a team with a different type of streak. The Hartford Hawks are the only winless team remaining in NCAA Division-I Basketball. The Hawks have the worst active losing streak at 0-30, dating back to last postseason. However, the team’s last win was against Stony Brook in the 2019 America East Semifinals.
Stony Brook will face Hartford on Wednesday, Feb. 26 in West Hartford, CT. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
