The Stony Brook Seawolves needed one more stop to try and take the lead, trailing to the Fordham Rams 55-53 with 1:06 remaining in the game. The defense already forced one missed shot on the drive, but Kaitlyn Downey grabbed the rebound that gave Fordham a second chance. The Rams obliged with Sarah Karpell sinking a 3-pointer off the dish from Downey, putting the team up 58-53 and icing the game.
Fordham opened up its season with the 62-58 victory over Stony Brook at Stony Brook, NY. The Rams handed the Seawolves their first loss at Island Federal Arena in 22 months.
“That was a great win for a lot of reasons – winning on the road and stopping their [win] streak, coming back after building a lead, seeing different kids stepping up to the challenge,” Fordham Rams head coach Stephanie Gaitley said in a press release.
The Stony Brook team remained competitive throughout the game, despite never leading in it. McKenzie Bushee sparked a comeback attempt with her put-back layup with 2:33 remaining in the third quarter. Earlette Scott‘s layup capped an eight-point third quarter run that cut their deficit to 48-40. The team knocked down a game-high 58 percent of its shots in the third.
The Seawolves carried that momentum into the fourth, coming within one point after an India Pagan basket with 6:33 remaining in the game. Pagan finished the game with a double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
With the game tied at 17, an Anna DeWolfe 3-pointer kickstarted a 22-9 second quarter run. The Rams sank 53 percent of their shots in the quarter, including three shots from beyond the arc. DeWolfe led the contest with 25 points on 10-21 shooting.
Downey controlled the boards throughout the game, grabbing 20 of the team’s 39 rebounds. The Rams capitalized off 13 offensive boards by converting it to 12 second chance points. She also scored 16 points and finished the day with a double-double.
The game saw the Stony Brook debuts of Aisah Dingle, Earlette Scott and Narimar Vargas-Reyes. Dingle led the way for the Seawolves’ starters with 22 points after going 10-15 from the floor. Although her team did not win, Dingle noted the excitement surrounding the team’s return to action.
“We’ve been working all fall for this game,” Dingle said in a press release. “We just tried to put our all on the court and tried to get that ‘W’. It didn’t end the way we wanted to, but we’re excited to finally play together.”
Both Stony Brook basketball programs were scheduled to open their seasons today. However, the men’s contest against Bryant was canceled due to a positive COVID test from an individual unaffiliated to either team. The women’s game was played in front of no fans.
Fordham will host its season opener against the Manhattan Jaspers on Wednesday, December 2nd at 7 p.m. Stony Brook will host No.23-ranked Syracuse on Sunday, November 29 at 2 p.m.
