LIU edges STONY BROOK women’s hoops in overtime

Stony Brook, N.Y. – Stony Brook’s women’s basketball team shot a season-high 42.9 percent but the LIU Blackbirds scored the first seven points of overtime on their way to a 66-59 victory over the Seawolves on Thursday at Pritchard Gymnasium. Krystal Wells hit a game-tying three with 4.5 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime. “Overall, it was a great team effort and I’m really happy with the way we competed,” O’Boyle said. “But give credit to LIU, they made some big shots down the stretch and that was the difference in the game.
Freshman Kellie Krueger (Wilsonville, Ore.) led the Seawolves with season-highs of 12 points and eight rebounds and junior Jessica Previlon (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added 10 points. Junior Gerda Gatling (Woodbridge, Va.) chipped in with seven points and five steals in the back-and-forth game that featured 11 ties and 12 lead changes.
Gatling hit two free throws with 44 seconds left in regulation to give the Seawolves a 54-52 lead, and then forced a turnover on LIU’s ensuing possession. Senior Whitney Davis (Muskegon, Mich.) hit one of two free throws with 12 seconds left but Wells knocked down a three from left corner to tie it at 57.
Kiara Evans hit two free throws on LIU’s first possession of overtime before both teams went scoreless over the next two and a half minutes. But She’tiarra Pledger hit a three with 2:22 left to make it 60-55 and Ebony Davis followed with a lay-in to give LIU a seven-point advantage.
Stony Brook got within 62-57 on a hoop from senior Tamiel Murray (Teaneck, N.J.) but that was as close as SBU would get as LIU held on for the victory. Evans, Davis and Ashley Palmer each had 15 points to lead the Blackbirds.
After falling behind early, Stony Brook used a 12-3 spurt to take a 14-10 lead five minutes in. LIU rallied to take a 19-18 with 8:42 to go but junior Dani Klupenger (Aurora, Ore.) responded with a three and Krueger followed with a short jumper a minute later to put SBU on top, 23-20.
LIU again rallied, going ahead on two free throws from Pledger with 50 seconds remaining but junior Talisha Bridges (Kalamazoo, Mich.) knocked down a jumper on the other end and the teams went to the break tied at 30.
The Blackbirds led by as many as seven early in the second half but the Seawolves again had an answer, taking a 42-40 lead with 11:16 left on a Gatling jumper. The teams exchanged the lead three more times over the final minutes before Murray hit one of two free throws to tie the game at 52 with 1:52 left.
Krueger was named the America East Player of the Game for Stony Brook.
The Seawolves return to action on Sunday, hosting Fordham at Pritchard Gymnasium. Game time is set for 2 p.m.