SBU Sports: Women’s hoops defeats Iona in thrilling fashion

The Stony Brook women’s basketball team erased a 26-point deficit and came from behind to defeat Iona in thrilling fashion, 73-71, on Nov. 14 at Island Federal Arena.  After being down 38-12 with 6:14 to play in the second quarter, the Seawolves outscored the Gaels 61-33 to earn their second win of the season.

Sophomore forward Sherese Pittman grabbed an offensive rebound with less than 10 seconds left in the game and went back up over four Iona defenders to score and give Stony Brook a 73-71 lead.

The Seawolves’ defense stood strong as Pittman locked up Iona’s Ketsia Athias on the final possession and held off the Gaels’ final chance to secure the win for Stony Brook. The team was led by graduate guard Anastasia Warren and senior guard Gigi Gonzalez, who both had career nights.

With less than one-minute remaining in the third quarter, Warren drilled a three-pointer to cut Stony Brook’s deficit back to six points. It got her up to 23 points on the night, as she eclipsed the 1,000-career point mark. Warren is the 19th player in Stony Brook women’s basketball program history to score at least 1,000 points in her career. She finished the game with a game-high 28 points, along with seven rebounds, three steals, and two assists. Gonzalez scored a career-high 24 points with three rebounds, three assists, and three steals.

Graduate forward Nairimar Vargas-Reyes put forth a valiant effort with her second career double-double. She scored 10 points and hauled in 11 rebounds.

Stony Brook led for just 31 seconds, but was able to come out victorious with its astounding comeback. The Seawolves now hold a 10-5 record over Iona in the all-time series. Stony Brook has won five-straight games against the Gaels. 

The team hits the road again to take on the St. John’s Red Storm at Carnesecca Arena in Queens on Nov. 19. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on FloHoops.