WEST HARTFORD, CONN. --– No. 8 seed New Hampshire (11-17) rallied in the second half to force overtime, and used the momentum to surge past No. 9 seed Stony Brook (7-21) in the extra period, 74-65, in the first round of the Friendship Cottage Cheese America East Championship on Wednesday night from Chase Family Arena.
The Wildcats mounted separate runs of 12-0 and 9-0 in the second half after trailing by as many as 13 points. A layup by Stony Brook freshman center Jessica Smith with 16:01 left in regulation gave the Seawolves their largest lead of the game, 44-31. Stony Brook went the next seven-plus minutes without a field goal, however, and a layup by New Hampshire senior center Maren Matthias with 11:27 remaining made it a 44-43 game. Stony Brook eventually built the lead back to six, 54-48, with 3:53 left. New Hampshire was not to be done in, however, as Matthias made two free throws with 3:32 left and freshman guard Whitney Edwards followed by scoring five straight points. Her steal and subsequent fastbreak bucket with 2:20 showing gave the Wildcats their first lead since a 5-3 advantage in the game’s opening minutes.
New Hampshire went on to lead by as many as four points in a scrambled final minute of regulation. Edwards hit a free throw with 38 seconds left to put the Wildcats ahead 60-56. But Stony Brook freshman guard Mykeema Ford connected on a three-pointer with 19 seconds left to cut the margin to one. After New Hampshire made one of two free throws on the other end, Ford tied the game on a jumper with just five seconds remaining.
Edwards added five more points in overtime, including a three-point play with 2:19 left that gave the Wildcats the lead for good, 66-63. After making just 11-of-23 free throws in regulation, New Hampshire sealed the win by making all seven of its foul shots in overtime.
Matthias led New Hampshire with 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Edwards finished with 17 points, six rebounds and six assists. Sophomore guard Ebony Woods added 14 points for the Wildcats.
Ford scored 14 points to lead Stony Brook, and senior guard Akia Booker added 13. Senior forward Sherry Jordan pulled down 15 rebounds in her final collegiate game.
New Hampshire advances to a Thursday evening quarterfinal against No. 1 seed Maine.