Binghamton, NY- Senior guard Brittnie Hughes scored a game-high 21 points as the #7 UMBC Retrievers upset #2 Stony Brook in its America East quarterfinal matchup on Friday afternoon at Events Center. UMBC advances to Saturday's semifinals where they will play the winner of the Vermont-Maine quarterfinal game.
After trailing by as many as 11 points, UMBC closed out the first half on a 19-2 run and held Stony Brook without a field goal for the final 5:07 to take a 33-27 lead at halftime.
It is the first ever America East Tournament win for the Retrievers, as well as the first time since 2004 that a #2 seed beat a #7 seed, when seventh-seeded Northeastern upset Binghamton in West Hartford.
Hughes, who scored the first 11 points for UMBC of the second half also added seven rebounds. Also scoring in double figures for the Retrievers were Shari Rohde with 17 points and Amanda Robinson with 15 points.
For the Seawolves, four players reached double figures. Leading the way was senior foward Jessica Smith who had 19 points. Mykeema Ford added 17 points, Dana Ferraro had 13 points and Kelly Watson tallied 10 points. Ferraro posted a game-high 11 rebounds.
America East Players of the game were Brittnie Hughes of UMBC and Jessica Smith of Stony Brook.