Albany, N.Y. - Junior Kirsten Jeter (Elmont, N.Y.) recorded a double-double with 19 points and 15 rebounds, but it wasn't enough as Albany outscored Stony Brook's women's basketball team 11-4 in overtime to pull out a 59-52 victory on Wednesday night in SEFCU Arena. Jeter's 14th rebound gave her 500 for her career. Albany's Ebone Henry, who sent the game into overtime with a layup with 21 seconds remaining, led all scorers with 26. With the loss, Stony Brook falls to 7-17 (5-7 America East) while Albany improves to 8-15 (1-9).
Stony Brook led by as many as ten with 7:58 remaining in the second half, but behind 16 points from Henry, Albany clawed its way back into the game. The Great Danes used a 9-0 run, capped by a three from Charity Iromuanya, to pull within one with 3:47 remaining. As a team, Albany shot 61.5% from beyond the arc for the game.
SBU would rebuild its lead back to five behind four free throws from senior Crystal Rushin (Valley Stream, N.Y.), but another three from Iromuanya put the score at 48-46 with 2:26 remaining. Two minutes later, sophomore Tamiel Murray (Teaneck, N.J.) picked up a loose ball with the shot clock winding down and put up a short jumper that bounced off the rim. Senior Joia Daniels (Silver Spring, Md.) battled for the rebound, eventually forcing a jump ball, which kept the Seawolves in possession with the lead.
With just 33 second remaining, Albany was forced to foul senior Misha Horsey (Wyncote, Pa.), whose first attempt at the one-and-one rolled around the rim and out. Albany grabbed the rebound and Henry raced down the other end of the court for the game-tying layup. Freshman Sam Landers(Springfield, Va.) had a chance to win it for Stony Brook in regulation, but her three-point attempt from the corner fell just short.
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Henry would score seven points in overtime and the Seawolves went 0-for-5 from the field as the Great Danes slowly pulled away for the victory. Jeter was named the America East Player of the Game honors for Stony Brook, while Henry earned the honor for Albany.
While the Seawolves shot just 27% from the field for the game, their defense was impressive, recording a season-high 17 steals. 13 of those came in the first half, however, as SBU outscored Albany 17-0 in points off turnovers. After committing 17 turnovers in the first half, Albany had just eight in the second, limiting the Seawolves to just five points off turnovers.
Stony Brook's next game is on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. against Maine in Pritchard Gymnasium. The game is part of a double-header with the men's team, which plays Binghamton at 7:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at www.goseawolves.org or by calling 631-632-WOLF.
