Women's Basketball Faces Huge Hurdle in Hartford Hawks
By Gene Morris HARTFORD, CT.- Junior leaders Kirsten Jeter and Misha Horsey led the fourth-seeded Stony Brook women's basketball team to a victory over the fifth-seeded Bearcats of Binghamton last night in the quarterfinals of the America East tournament, 71-60. While the game was no cakewalk, the Seawolves are in for a much bigger test tomorrow when they take on the top-seeded (and nationally ranked) Hartford Hawks. At stake is a spot in the conference's championship game. The Hawks sport two of the best players in the conference- America East Player of the Year Diana Delva averaged 14.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game this season, and her teammate Erica Beverly was named the conference's defensive player of the year, averaging 6.8 rebounds, 2.2 blocks, and 1.3 steals per game. The duo combined for 34 of Hartford’s points in its 68-35 victory over New Hampshire in the quarterfinals, despite playing just 42 combined minutes. The inside combination of these two will be extremely tough for Stony Brook to handle, specifically Stony Brook's center Destiny Jacobs, who may have tired legs after logging 35 minutes against Binghamton. Click for full coverage of the men's basketball tournament. In the first matchup between the teams this season the Hawks beat the Seawolves, 65-38. Stony Brook was able to hold Beverly to just eight points, but Delva had 20 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks. The second matchup took place at the Pritchard Arena in Stony Brook, but the result was similar. Beverly once again had a down game, scoring only four points in 30 minutes, but Delva ripped the Seawolves for 17 points, nine rebounds and two assists. For the Seawolves, Jeter will have to stay out of foul trouble and have an effective all-around game for Stony Brook to be able to pull the upset. In the second meeting between the two teams, Jeter only shot 3-of-15 from the floor and scored nine points. She was barely better in the first game, shooting 4-of-10 from the field to score 11 points. The game is set to start at 1:30 P.M. |
