Stony Brook And Hofstra Set To Square Off In Monday’s Women’s Hoops Home Opener
-Stony Brook Athletics
Stony Brook – The Stony Brook women’s basketball team (0-1) will host Long Island rival Hofstra (1-0) in its home opener on Monday night at 7 p.m.
Scouting Hofstra
The Pride are coming off of consecutive 20-win seasons and return four key contributors from last year’s team that went 25-9 and advanced to the WNIT quarterfinals. They are led by second team All-CAA selection and last year’s leading scorer and rebounder, Ashunae Durant. Hofstra, behind a strong performance from Durant, impressed in a 62-46 win over Marist in its season opener Friday night. Durant led all scorers with 19 points, while fifth-year senior Sydni Epps hauled in 11 boards.
Series History
The Seawolves have won just one of seven all-time meetings vs. Hofstra. They played the Pride close last season in Hempstead before falling late 71-66. Durant finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds in that game.
Manner gets “Bizzy”
Forward Elizabeth Manner (Vienna, Va.) got her senior season off to a fast start on Friday night with a career-high 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting. She also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Manner should see an increased role this season. She played 26 minutes of action Friday after averaging 12.6 minutes per game as a junior.
Bayne-Walker Shines in Opener
Senior point guard Kori Bayne-Walker (Rochester, N.Y.) was faced with the difficult take of matching up vs. the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year Marina Lizarazu, who scored 24 points against the Seawolves last season. Bayne-Walker was up to the test on Friday night, pouring in a team-high 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting, while holding Lizarazu to nine points and just two in the first half.
Home at the Island
The Seawolves have been stout protecting their home court under head coach Caroline McCombs. In her two seasons, Stony Brook has gone 20-8 at Island Federal Credit Union Arena compared to 13-19 on the road. Part of the reason for their success at home has been their ability to shoot better in their home arena. They averaged more points and shot better from the field, three-point range and the free-throw line at home compared to on the road in 2015-16.
Photo: Stony Brook Athletics
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