March 2, 2013

Final Stats

Albany, N.Y. - Chikilra Goodman poured in a career-best, game-high 19 points while grabbing seven rebounds, but the Stony Brook women's basketball team fell to first-place Albany, 60-49, Saturday afternoon at SEFCU Arena. 

Sabre Proctor added 14 points as Stony Brook wrapped up its regular season with a 14-15, 6-10 AE mark and secured a No. 4 seed in the America East Championship. 

Ebone Henry paced Albany (25-3, 16-0 AE) with 15 points, while Julie Forster pulled down a game-high eight rebounds.

Goodman and Henry earned America East Player of the Game accolades.

Coach's Reaction

"I thought we came out and started well in the second half. Unfortunately, they made some plays in the first half, but I felt that we played aggressive for 40 minutes and look forward to playing in the first round of the America East Championship next weekend."

--Head Coach Beth O'Boyle

Turning Point

Stony Brook trailed by as many as 15 in the first half and were down, 35-23, at the break. The Seawolves stormed back, opening the second frame on an 8-0 run courtesy of a steal and bucket by Goodman in transition and three straight baskets by Proctor that brought SBU within four, 35-31, at the 17:41 mark.

Megan Craig responded with a layup about 15 ticks later and Henry connected on a three-point play to put Albany in front by nine, 40-31, with 15:01 left in the second stanza.

Gerda Gatling helped the Seawolves keep pace with a jumper, but two Henry free throws and a hoop inside by Shereeesha Richards gave the Great Danes a double-digit lead, 44-33, with 12:49 left. The hosts ran away with the game from there to notch their 16th consecutive victory and an unblemished regular season in conference play.

• Though the Great Danes held a 35-23 lead at the intermission, Stony Brook continued to battle and outscored Albany, 26-25, in the second half.   
• UA entered the game with a +11 rebounding margin, which ranks seventh in the country, but the Seawolves kept the gap on the glass much closer, 30-28 Albany.
• Gatling and Brittany Snow pulled down four rebounds apiece.
• The Seawolves forced 20 Albany turnovers while committing 18 themselves. 

News and Notes

• There is a four-way tie between New Hampshire, SBU, UMBC and Vermont after a win by UNH and losses by the latter three teams this afternoon. UMBC holds the initial tiebreak with a 4-2 record against the other three squads and will be the No. 3 seed. Stony Brook possesses head-to-head tiebreaks with Vermont and New Hampshire and will be a No. 4 seed and play No. 5 UNH, who owns the head-to-head advantage over Vermont, the sixth seed.  
• The Seawolves were initially picked to finish ninth in the preseason AE coaches poll and have made the fourth-best turnaround in the country to date with a 10 win improvement over the last season.
• This is the sixth time Goodman has led Stony Brook in scoring and the 11th occasion she has reached double-figures. She has now paced SBU on the glass in nine games.
• Not only did Goodman's 19 points match a personal-best, but it is also tied for the second-highest point total for a Seawolf this season. Proctor tallied 25 against Iona on Dec. 30, 2012.
• This is the third consecutive and 14th overall game in which Proctor has notched double-digits in points. She previously tallied 11 and 19 versus UMBC and Maine, respectively.
• Stony Brook went 0-for-10 from behind the arc, marking the first time since Jan. 5 that the Seawolves have not hit a triple in a single game.
• The Great Danes have won the last seven against the Seawolves and hold a slight 26-21 edge in the all-SUNY series.
• Albany is the seventh AE women's basketball program to run the table in regular season conference play.

Up Next

Stony Brook will now gear up for the America East Championship, with its first game against New Hampshire, who it swept during the regular season, Friday, March 8 at 8 p.m. on ESPN3.