VESTAL, N.Y. – Kaela Hilaire scored 17 points and India Pagan finished with 16 points, leading Stony Brook (19-1, 7-0 AE) to a 67-60 win over Binghamton (13-6, 2-4 AE) in an America East women's Basketball game on Wednesday evening at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center. The Seawolves, who are receiving a vote in the current WCBA/USA Today Top 25 poll, have now won 16 games in a row, which is the second-longest streak in the nation.
The Seawolves were effective from both the free throw line and beyond the three-point arc. They shot 54 percent from three-point range (6-for-11) and drained 19 of their 22 free throws (86 percent). Binghamton, by contrast, hit just 14 of their 21 free throws after entering the game ranked sixth in the nation with a .782 free throw percentage.
The loss overshadowed a 21-point performance by senior guard
Kai Moon. She went 6-for-15 from the field and 3-of-9 from beyond the three-point arc.
A key turning point of the game, however, came when Moon had to leave the game with 5:46 left in regulation. She had just converted a pair of free throws but was injured on a collision during the ensuing Seawolf possession.
With Moon on the bench, Stony Brook got the separation it needed. The Seawolves went on a 14-4 run in the next 3:55 to go up 65-53 with 1:46 remaining. Pagan had seven of her points during that stretch.
"I was proud of our girls and the fight that they showed," head coach
Bethann Shapiro Ord said. "They just kept battling. We didn't put our heads down but we missed some opportunities and had a tough night at the free throw line."
Binghamton started off the game strong, taking a 16-7 lead after the first period of play. Moon had five of her points during that span and the Bearcats as a team shot 42 percent (6-of-14).
It was in the second period, however, that Stony Brook took the lead for good. The Seawolves outscored the Bearcats 24-7 to take a 31-23 lead into the break.
Play evened out in the second half until Moon's fourth-period injury.
Freshman guard
Denai Bowman scored 12 points while junior forward
Olivia Ramil grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. Senior guard
Carly Boland finished with seven points, six rebounds, four assists and a block.
Stony Brook finished with an 18-7 advantage in points off of turnovers. The Seawolves also had a 20-13 lead in bench points.
With 1,258 career points, Moon moves into seventh place all time in Binghamton program history. Against Stony Brook, she surpassed Rachel Laws, who scored 1,246 career points from 2002-06.
In addition, Moon now has three consecutive games with at least 20 points. For her career, she has 19 such performances.
Binghamton travels to New Hampshire on Saturday for a 1 p.m. game.
