In a contest featuring two of the nation’s top point guards, Yale’s Jenna Clark bested Stony Brook’s Gigi Gonzalez on the stat sheet, but the Bulldogs came out on the losing end to the Seawolves in a Wednesday matinee at Long Island’s Island Federal Credit Union Arena.
The senior from Pittsburgh finished the day with 26 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals for Yale, while Gonzalez totaled 19 points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Stony Brook (7-1) used its speed and strength to build a double-digit second quarter lead, finishing the first half up 39-29.
The Seawolves only made one three-pointer over the first 20 minutes but shot 62% from inside the arc. Stony Brook also held a 14% advantage on the boards and 22 more points in the pain. Yale (2-8) kept in the game by making five triples but could only hit 26% of its two-pointers.
The Bulldogs regrouped in the third quarter, making more of their interior shots and slowing down the Seawolves’ transition offense.
Four times in that quarter, Yale made it a four-point game. But each time, Stony Brook responded before finishing the frame up seven, 63-56.
Layups by Clark and senior forward Brenna McDonald in the opening two minutes of the fourth quarter made it 63-60, the closest the game had been since the first minute of the second quarter. Unfortunately for the visitors, Stony Brook recovered its first-half formula, going on a 13-2 run over the next four minutes and effectively putting the game away.
The Seawolves didn’t significantly improve their three-point effort, but the victors controlled the boards (+14, +17%), inside shooting (52% to 41%) and the free throw line (22-for-23 to 9-for-13).
McDonald ended the day with 13 points on 50% shooting and five rebounds, while sophomore guard Kiley Capstraw added 13 points and four boards. Junior guard Nyla McGill, the team’s leading rebounder and last year’s Ivy League co-Defensive Player of the Year, was in foul trouble throughout the game, finishing with two points, rebounds and steals over 17 minutes.
For Stony Brook, which beat Columbia on opening night and ends the year 2-0 against the Ivies, graduate student forward/center Khari Clark posted a team-high 23 points as well as eight rebounds. Junior forward Sherese Pittman grabbed a game-high nine rebounds to go along with her 10 points.
Yale will look to end its two-game losing streak at home on Saturday against Providence (3-5), which has already lost to Brown and Columbia this season.