March 13, 2008

Box Score

West Hartford, Conn. - Senior Aly Young (Lodi, Calif.) hit a go-ahead three- pointer with 3:42 to go in the game as No.9 Stony Brook took the lead for good and held on to defeat No. 8 Maine, 64-58 in the first round of the America East Championships at Hartford. Stony Brook goes to 8-22 on the season and will face top-seeded Hartford at 6 pm on Friday evening. Maine is 7-23.

"We were aggressive in attacking Maine's zone and that ultimately helped us," head coach Michele Cherry said. "We got to the free throw line and forced turnovers. I can't say enough about how well Kirsten Jeter played. She had career highs in points and rebounds. Morgan Patrick was so good for us coming off the bench."

After a free throw from Katia Bratishko tied the game at 54, Young hit a three from the left side to give the Seawolves a 57-54 lead. Two free throws from Kris Younan got Maine within two at 58-56 but senior Morgan Patrick (Burlington, N.J.) rebounded Young's miss and scored with the left hand to give the Seawolves a 60-56 lead. Colleen Kilmurray hit a driving layup to get Maine within two with 37 seconds left but that was as close as the Black Bears got.

Maine opened the game with a 6-2 lead but Stony Brook fought back, going on an 11-0 run. After Young hit a layup, the Seawolves forced a turnover on the inbounds pass. Freshman Misha Horsey (Wyncote, Pa.) found senior Dana Ferraro (Middlesex, N.J.) who hit sophomore Kairsten Nunn (Bowie, Md.) with a touch pass as she tied the game. Freshman Kirsten Jeter (Elmont, N.Y.) added two more buckets, one on a fast break layup, and sophomore Crystal Rushin (Valley Stream, N.Y.) added another for Stony Brook.

Down 22-12, Maine answered with a 13-1 run to take a 25-23 lead with under four minutes to play in the first half. Stony Brook went cold on the offensive end, going eight minutes without a field goal. Kilmurray had 10 first-half points to lead the Black Bears to a 32-28 halftime lead.

Stony Brook came out of the half with renewed energy. Horsey connected on the Seawolves' first two possessions of the half with each coming in transition.

The first six minutes of the second half featured three ties and three lead changes. Horsey gave the Seawolves their first lead of the second frame when she hit a jumper from the left side. On the ensuing possession, Young stole the ball and found a streaking Jeter for a layup as Stony Brook took a 42-38 lead.

Stony Brook took a 52-51 lead after Jeter made two free throws but Maine re-took the lead following two free throws from Bratishko with 5:30 left in the game. Stony Brook took the lead for good on Young's three.

Jeter recorded her first career double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds, both career-highs. Young added 13 points and six rebounds. Kilmurray had a team high 17 points for Maine. Amanda Tewksbury and Brittany Boser each had 10.