BALTIMORE—Playing at home for the first time in more than a month, the UMBC women's basketball team (5-10, 1-1 AEC) snapped a four-game losing streak and picked up its first America East victory of the season with a 61-56 win over Stony Brook (5-10, 0-2 AEC) Saturday afternoon at RAC Arena.
Sophomore guard Carlee Cassidy scored a game-high 19 points, while senior guard Kristin Drabyn posted 17.
UMBC hit just two of its first seven shots, both 3-pointers by senior guard Morgan Hatten, as the Retrievers' first four field goals came from long distance, with the other two scored by Drabyn, and UMBC jumped out to an early 14-7 lead.
After the Retrievers took a game-high eight point lead with 9:46 to play in the first half, Stony Brook scored eight of the final 12 points of the period to cut the lead in half. UMBC held a 24-20 advantage at intermission.
Hatten led all scorers with eight points in the first half, while Stony Brook senior forward Dana Ferraro had six points and six rebounds. Neither team shot well, as both teams' were held to under 30 percent from the floor.
The teams alternated scoring on the first three possessions before a 9-2 Stony Brook run tied the game at 33-33 with 15:20 remaining. The Seawolves took the lead five minutes later on a pair of free throws by forward Kirsten Jeter, and another 8-2 Stony Brook spurt made the Seawolves' advantage four points with 7:18 left.
The final five minutes of the game featured three ties and four lead changes, but a layup by junior guard Chantay Frazier at the 3:09 mark put the Retrievers ahead for good, and Cassidy took over with seven of UMBC's final nine points to seal the victory.
The Retrievers made 14 of 15 free throw attempts, including 10 of 11 in the second half. After shooting just 29.6 percent in the first period, UMBC came back to make 46.2 percent of its shots in the second to finish the game with a .377 field goal percentage.
The Seawolves shot 32.8 percent in the game, but just 12.5 percent (2-for-16) from 3-point range.
Fifteen of Cassidy's 19 points came in the second half, as she made just two of her first 17 shots before making four of her last six attempts. Similarly, Drabyn scored 11 of her 17 points in the second period, including nine of the Retrievers' first 11 points to start the half.
Freshman forward Meghan Colabella scored eight points and posted a career-high and team-best nine rebounds, while Frazier scored nine points to go along with six rebounds and two steals. Hatten also scored eight points and added six rebounds, two blocks and a season-high six assists.
Ferraro and forward Kairsten Nunn each scored 14 points to lead Stony Brook. Ferraro and Jeter posted nine rebounds apiece, while Jeter scored 10 points.
Cassidy and Ferraro were named America East Players of the Game.
The Retrievers return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 16, when they host America East rival Binghamton. UMBC will welcome more than 800 local elementary and middle school students to the RAC Arena for Midday Madness. The game will tip off at 12 p.m.
