VESTAL, NY- Sigi Koizar once again came up big on Sunday afternoon for the University of Maine womens basketball team. Koizar nailed a huge three pointer in the fourth quarter and scored 15 points to lead help Maine rally late to defeat Stony Brook 51-48 in an America East Semifinal game at the Events Center.
Maine opened up a seven point lead with a 9-0 run in the first quarter after the Seawolves scored the games first basket. Stony Brook was able cut four points off the lead to make it 12-9 before Maine made it 15-9 after one quarter as Chantel Charles banked in a three pointer just before the buzzer to extend the lead back to six.
Maine led by as many as 13 in the second quarter before Stony Brook ran off the final three points before halftime and Maine had a 28-20 lead at intermission.
Stony Brook continued that run into the third quarter as they scored the first six points of the second half to cut the Maine lead down to 28-26. The Seawolves took advantage of foul trouble on the Black Bears as senior Liz Wood picked up her fourth foul and went to the bench midway through the quarter. The Seawolves attacked on the interior eventually taking the lead which they took to the fourth quarter at 40-37. Stony Brook outscored Maine 20-9 in the third.
Stony Brook would take a lead by as many as five early in the fourth quarter, but Maine fought their way back. Koizar scored on a driving layup and then Lauren Bodine banked in a three-pointer to tie the game at 44 with about six minutes left. Stony Brook would regain lead at 48-46 before Koizar nailed a long distance three-pointer to make it 49-48 Maine with 3:35 left. Wood would pick up her fifth foul shortly after and be forced to watch the rest of the game from the bench. Bella Swan nailed a jumpshot with just under a minute to go to put Maine up three. The Bears had a chance to put the game away after a defensive stop, but Koizar couldn’t connect on another three with just under 30 seconds to play. Stony Brook called time with 17.9 seconds showing on the clock. The Seawolves had three different opportunities at a game tying three-pointer, two from Christa Scognamiglio, who had the final chance before the final horn, but they all fell short as Maine advanced to their first America East title game since 2004.
For Stony Brook, who finishes their season at 17-14, they got 14 points and eight rebounds from senior Brittany Snow while Ogechi Anyagaligbo had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Koizar shot 5 for 11 from the floor and nailed three from behind the arc for her game-high 15 points, with 10 coming in the second half. Mikaela Gustaffson, Liz Wood and Bella Swan all had eight points a piece while Wood and Swan also controlled the boards with seven rebounds a piece. Maine is now 26-7 and have won 14 straight games.
Maine will make a road trip to Albany, who advanced in the second semifinal over Binghamton, next Friday at 4:30 p.m. to play for the America East championship with a trip to the NCAA Tournament on the line. Albany (26-4) who won the RPI (strength of schedule) tiebreaker over Maine to get the conference tournament top seed will be the home team. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN U.
Stony 9 11 20 8- 48
Maine 15 13 9 14- 51
Field goal percentage: Stony Brook 20-48, 41.7% Maine 21-46, 45.7%
3 pt shooting: Stony Brook 2-11, 18.2% Maine 7-15, 46.7%
Free throw shooting: Stony Brook 6-10, 60% Maine 2-6, 33.3%
