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Women's Basketball Drops Tough Decision to Stony Brook
March 13, 2008 WEST HARTFORD, CONN. - The University of Maine women's basketball team dropped a tough 64-58 decision to Stony Brook in the opening round of the 2008 America East Tournament on Thursday night at Chase Arena in West Hartford, Conn. The Black Bears concluded their season at 7-23. Colleen Kilmurray led the way for Maine with 17 points, while Brittany Boser and Amanda Tewksbury each chipped in 10 points. Kirsten Jeter led Stony Brook with a game-high 21 points, while Aly Young tossed in 13 points. Maine held a 51-46 lead with 8:29 remaining in the game, but the Seawolves scored six-straight points to grab a slim 52-51 advantage. Both teams traded baskets for the next three minutes, but SBU was able to open up a three-point advantage at 57-54 with 3:39 to go on a three-pointer from Young. The Seawolves clung to a 58-56 lead with 1:06 to go and had a chance to extend their advantage, but Jeter missed a pair of free throws. Young swooped in for the offensive rebound to give Stony Brook a fresh shot clock and possession. Morgan Patrick converted a layup to make it 60-56, but Kilmurray followed with a basket at the other end of the court to bring the Black Bears back within two with :36 to go. Maine fouled on the ensuing inbounds, but Misha Horsey made both free throws for Stony Brook to put it back up by four at 62-58. Maine could not convert at the other end and Stony Brook made its free throws in the closing seconds to seal the win.
Maine opened the first three minutes of the game on a 6-2 run, which was keyed by baskets from Kilmurray, Kris Younan and Tewksbury. However, Stony Brook responded by scoring the game's next 11 points to open up a 13-6 advantage. The surge was sparked by four points from Jeter and capped with a layup from Crystal Rushin.
The teams traded baskets over the next several minutes before a Jodie Plikus free throw staked the Seawolves to a 22-12 advantage with 8:14 remaining in the half. However, Maine rallied and went on an 11-2 run over the next three minutes to knot the score at 23. Kilmurray aided the run with five points, while Boser capped it with back-to-back layups. Coming out of the under-four-minute media timeout, Sandra Vaitkute hit a jumper in the lane to stake the Black Bears to a 25-23 advantage. Stony Brook tied the game at 28-28 with 2:04 remaining on a pair of Plikus free throws, but Maine scored the final four points of the half to take a 32-28 lead into halftime. Kilmurray led Maine with 10 points in the first half, while Vaitkute chipped in with eight. The Black Bear defense also held strong in the opening 20 minutes by forcing SBU into three shot clock violations and holding it without a field goal for more than eight minutes from the 10:43 mark to the 2:25 mark. The Black Bears also shot 50 percent (13-of-26) from the floor while owning a 20-18 advantage on the boards. Stony Brook opened the second half by scoring four-straight points to tie the game at 32-32. Boser and Kilmurray put in consecutive layups to put Maine back on top at 36-32. SBU didn't flinch and came right back on a 10-2 run, keyed by four points from Jeter, to take a 42-38 lead with 13:15 to go in the contest. Maine followed with a 9-2 run over the next three minutes - ignited by a pair of Tewksbury baskets - to take a 47-44 lead. The game went back-and-forth heading into the final hectic minutes of the contest. |
