VESTAL, N.Y. – Junior guard Sigi Koizar netted a team-high 15 points, leading No. 2 Maine (26-7) to a 51-48 win over No. 3 Stony Brook (17-14) in the first game of America East Semifinals on Sunday afternoon at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center. With the victory, Maine reaches the America East Championship game for the 16th time in program history, and for the first time since 2004. The No. 2 seed has now advanced to the America East Championship game for seventh-straight years, and 19 times overall.
Maine opened up the game on a 9-2 run, but Stony Brook immediately responded, going on a 7-3 run of their own, to keep the score at 12-9. From there, the Black Bears continued with offensive pressure and compiled a 13-3 run to take a 25-12 lead. The Black Bears took a 28-20 lead at the break.
Koizar, a member of this season’s All-Conference First Team, went 5-for-11 from the field and 3-for-6 from the beyond the three point line. She now has tallied double-digits in 29 of Maine’s 31 games this season. Senior forward Liz Wood fouled out with 3:32 remaining, but added eight points, seven rebounds and two steals. Junior forward Mikaela Gustafsson chipped in with eight points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal.
“Everyone stepped up today.” Koizar said. “Everyone scored and contributed. I never thought we were going to let the game get away from us.”
Senior Brittany Snow led the Seawolves with 23 points and five rebounds. America East Rookie of the Year Ogechi Anyagaligbo finished the game with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds and three blocks.
Stony Brook took a 38-37 lead with 1:55 remaining in the third quarter, on a layup by Snow, to cap a 23-9 run to open the second half.
“I am very proud of our young ladies.” Stony Brook head coach Caroline McCombs said. “In the third quarter, we really played Stony Brook basketball. We competed on every possession and I was proud of our effort tonight.”
With 6:14 remaining, Maine tied the game at 46-46 on a three pointer from Lauren Bodine, who finished the game with seven points. From there, the game was back-and-forth until the final buzzer.
In the games final seconds, Stony Brook had three three-point opportunities to tie, but the final shot at the buzzer went off the back iron to seal the victory for the Black Bears. Maine held the Seawolves scoreless in the final 4:18 of the game.
For Stony Brook, Snow finishes her time with the Seawolves, scoring 1,304 career points.
“Every year I have been here, things have kept getting better for our program.” Snow said. “We have been taking steps each season and Coach (McCombs) has the program going in the right direction.”
Maine improves to 16-0 against America East teams this season when leading at the half. The Black Bears will now await a matchup with their America East championship opponent (the winner of Albany vs. Binghamton) at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The game will be broadcasted on ESPNU.
2016 America East Women's Basketball Championship
Quarterfinals - Saturday, March 5 - Binghamton University
Game 1: No. 2 Maine 58, No. 7 New Hampshire 47
Box Score | Recap | Quotes | Highlights | Photo Gallery
Game 2: No. 3 Stony Brook 60, No. 6 Hartford 42
Box Score | Recap | Quotes | Highlights | Photo Gallery
Game 3: No. 1 Albany 95, No. 8 Vermont 43
Box Score | Recap | Quotes | Highlights | Photo Gallery
Game 4: No. 5 Binghamton 49, No. 4 UMBC 41
Box Score | Recap | Quotes | Highlights | Photo Gallery
Semifinals - Sunday, March 6 - Binghamton University
Game 5: No. 2 Maine 51, No. 3 Stony Brook 48
Box Score | Recap | Quotes | Highlights | Photo Gallery
Game 6: No. 1 Albany vs. No. 5 Binghamton - 4:15 PM
Live Stats | Watch Live
Championship Game - Friday, March 11
at highest remaining seed
No. 2 Maine vs. Winner Game 6, 4:30 PM – ESPN