Stony Brook, N.Y. - Stony Brook University women's basketball team shot a season-high 54.3 percent but Jackie Smith hit the go-ahead free throws with 24 seconds left to send the Hartford Hawks to a 67-63 victory over the Seawolves on Wednesday at Pritchard Gymnasium.
Senior Kirsten Jeter (Elmont, N.Y.), sophomore Sam Landers (Springfield, Va.) and junior Destiny Jacobs (Glen Burnie, Md.) each scored 13 points for the Seawolves, who out-scored Hartford 36-16 in the paint. Nikkia Smith led four Hawks in double-figures with 13 points. Hartford shot 58.3 percent in the second half and went 6-for-8 from three.
The Seawolves led 53-45 midway through the second half but Hartford went on a 14-4 run over the next four minutes, taking a 59-57 lead on three-point play from Ruthanne Doherty with five minutes left. Jeter tied the game with two free throws before Hartford scored the game's next four points.
A Jacobs hoop brought SBU within two and Jeter then hit two more free throws to tie the game at 63 with 1:14 remaining. Neither team scored on their next possession, giving the Hawks the ball with 40 seconds left. The Hawks got the ball to Jackie Smith, who was fouled while shooting a three with 24.8 seconds remaining.
Smith hit two of the three freebies and Stony Brook called timeout with 19.7 seconds to go. SBU turned the ball over with under five seconds left and Daphne Elliot hit two free throws on the other end to seal Hartford's 13th straight victory over the Seawolves.
Hartford scored 22 points off 18 Stony Brook turnovers and went 19-for-24 from the foul line. Stony Brook out-rebounded the Hawks, 32-22. Jackie Smith and Landers were named their respective teams America East Players of the Game. Stony Brook scored the game's first seven points and led 15-6 midway through the first half as the Seawolves forced Hartford to miss 12 of their first 15 shots. Hartford closed within 15-12 but SBU scored the next six points to push its lead back to nine.
A three from Mary Silvia cut the Stony Brook lead to five but SBU once again had an answer as back-to-back hoops from Jacobs and sophomore Amanda Corona (North Hollywood, Calif.) gave the Seawolves a 25-16 lead with a minute left until halftime. Silvia hit another three on Hartford's ensuing possession as Stony Brook went into the break with a 25-19 advantage.
The Seawolves shot 54.5 percent (12-for-22) from the field in the first half. Hartford went just 6-for-24 from the field but went 5-for-7 from the foul line. The Seawolves did not shoot a free throw in the opening 20 minutes and turned it over 10 times.
Hartford opened the second half on fire, hitting three three-pointers in the first two minutes to take its first lead of the game at 28-27. But junior Whitney Davis (Muskegon, Mich.) hit two free throws and Jeter then stole the inbounds pass and converted the lay-up while getting fouled. She then knocked down the free throw to put SBU up by four.
A three-point play by Jacobs minutes later extended the Stony Brook run to 11 and gave the Seawolves a 38-28 lead. Hartford would not go away though, getting within 42-40 with the help of back-to-back threes from Silvia and Jackie Smith.
But Landers scored seven of the Seawolves next 11 points as SBU pushed their lead back to eight just over midway through the half.
Stony Brook closes the regular season on Saturday against Binghamton at Pritchard Gymnasium. Game time is set for 2 p.m. The Seawolves will honor their three seniors- Jeter, Misha Horsey (Wyncote, Pa.) and Jodie Plikus (Waterford, Conn.)- prior to the game.
