March 1, 2002

GAME BACKDROP: Stony Brook, which has dropped six of its last nine games, hopes to gain momentum heading into next week's America East Tournament with a victory over conference leader Vermont in the Seawolves' regular season finale. The Seawolves will have either a sixth or seventh seed in next week's tournament depending on Saturday's outcomes. Five seniors will bid farewell as the Seawolves take their home court for the final time in 2001-02.

THE SERIES: Vermont leads the series 1-0 after defeating Stony Brook 71-59 in Burlington on Jan. 24.

SENIOR SENDOFF: Saturday's game marks the final home contest for five Stony Brook seniors--guard Sarah Burkett, center Jill George, forwards Heather and Jennifer Metz and guard Erika Shipley.

GEORGE'S GOOD-BYE: Senior Jill George is one of five Stony Brook seniors who will take the homecourt for the final time today against Vermont. George, who currently has 113 career blocks, became the program's all-time blocks leader this season, breaking the old mark of 98. She also ranks among the program's top five in career rebounds (No. 5, 687) and field goal percentage (No. 2, .493). George will also finish among the program's top 10 in single-season records in three categories: rebounds (currently No. 10, 242), blocked shots (tied at No. 2, 39), and field goal percentage (No. 7, 497). George has started all but one game the past two seasons and leads the team in rebounds with a 9.3 per game average. She set a new single-game career-high this season with 16 rebounds on two occasions, which ties the second-best single-game performance in Stony Brook history. She also set new single-game career-highs in assists (5) and blocks (5) this year. The two-year team captain has recorded double-digits in rebounds on 11 occasions this season and has recorded 15 career double-doubles, eight of which she earned this year. The America East Conference leader in rebounds, offensive rebounds, and blocks, George has played in 126 games in her four years, scoring 717 points and grabbing 687 rebounds to go along with her 113 career blocks.

BURKETT'S SEND-OFF: Senior guard Sarah Burkett has stepped it up during her final season with the Seawolves. The guard began her Stony Brook career on a solid note, averaging 6.2 points and 2.5 rebounds per game as a freshman. She also nailed 18-of-44 three-pointers (.409), which set the Stony Brook single-season record for three-point field goal percentage. Burkett has returned to that form this season after playing in just nine games as a junior. She has started 14 of the past 15 games, scoring a season-high 11 points on two of those occasions. Against Albany on Feb. 24, she dished a season-high six assists with no turnovers. Burkett ranks among the program's top five in career three-pointers made (No. 5, 49) and attempted (No. 5, 147). She has played in 88 games during her four years, totaling 346 points, 159 rebounds and 101 assists.

BON VOYAGE TO SHIP: Guard Erika Shipley has transformed into one of the Seawolves' most important players in her senior season. Shipley, the team's third-leading scorer at 9.2 points per game, has started all but one game this season and 43-of-53 the past two years. Shipley has set new single-game career-highs this season in points (21), assists (7), steals (5), free throws made and attempted (12-of-13) and three-pointers made and attempted (4-of-7). During her four years, Shipley has played in 90 games, scoring 502 points and recording 210 rebounds.

MEET THE METZES: Senior guards Heather and Jennifer Metz will also say good-bye after three seasons with the Seawolves. The twins are two-time recipients of the Stony Brook Coaches' Award. Jennifer has set new single-game career-highs this season in points (9), rebounds (8) and assists (6). She has played 400 minutes this year after totaling just 31 last season. After seeing action in just 10 games during her previous two seasons, Jennifer has played in 24 games with nine starts this year. She has recorded 79 points (3.3 per game) and 51 rebounds (2.1 per game) this year. Heather has played in two games this season and four during her three years.

ABOUT THE CATAMOUNTS: Winners of 13 of their last 15 games, Vermont is riding an 11-game winning streak into today's game. The Catamounts clinched sole possession of the America East regular season title and the top seed in next week's conference tournament with last Saturday's win over Hartford. Vermont handed Albany a 77-55 setback on Thursday night in UVM's final home game of the season.

LAST TIME OUT: Binghamton seniors Sarah Cartmill and Leah Truncale combined for 35 points in their final home game as the Bearcats snapped a two-game losing streak with a 63-50 victory over Stony Brook Thursday night. Cartmill tallied 19 points with nine rebounds, and Truncale, back from a torn ACL that cost her more than six weeks and 12 games, contributed 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting. Cartmill tallied 11 of her points in the second half, when the Bearcats stretched their two-point halftime advantage to seven at 45-38. Leading 39-37 with 11:30 left, the Bearcats embarked on a 20-5 run that spanned eight minutes. Binghamton held the Seawolves to just nine second-half field goals, seven of which were scored by sophomore Sherry Jordan.

LAST MEETING: Morgan Hall's 21 points led UVM to a 71-59 victory over Stony Brook in January. The loss marked the second straight in America East play for the Seawolves. Meanwhile, the Catamounts kicked off their current 11-game winning streak with the victory. After a tightly-contested first half, a 9-0 run over the final four minutes gave the Catamounts a 33-26 lead heading into the lockerroom. Sherry Jordan scored 12 first-half points to keep the Seawolves close. The Seawolves got as close as six points in the second stanza, but UVM's Aaron Yantzi scored a layup to ignite a 13-3 run that gave Vermont its biggest lead of the night at 64-48 with 5:06 remaining. Vermont blistered the Seawolves with 60 percent shooting in the second half and 52.3 percent for the game. Meanwhile, Stony Brook connected on just 36.5 percent of its shots. Jordan finished with a game-high 22 points and seven rebounds.

INJURY CURSE: Stony Brook has battled injuries all season long, and the Seawolves got more bad news after last Thursday's game against BU. Sophomore guard Theresa LoParrino went down in the second half with an injury that was later discovered to be a torn ACL. LoParrino, who is scheduled to have an MRI to discover the full extent of the injury, will be sidelined for the remainder of the season. Freshman Danyelle Ingram, who dislocated her shoulder on Nov. 30, will also miss the rest of the season as she recuperates from surgery. Sophomore Danielle Mosley also continues to undergo rehab from an ACL injury.

SBU IN HOME FINALES: Stony Brook has won its last three home season finales, recording a 56-54 victory over Albany last season. Before that, Stony Brook had lost three straight in its final home send-off, two at the hands of Albany.

TOURNAMENT OUTLOOK: With three teams tied for third-place in the standing with 9-6 records, where the Seawolves will be seeded in next week's tournament depends on both today's game and other outcomes throughout the league. If the Seawolves beat Vermont, they could earn a No. 6 seed, facing either Binghamton or Boston University as the No. 3 seed. An SBU victory today and a Maine victory over Hartford would earn Stony Brook a sixth seed, and the Seawolves would face either Binghamton or Boston University. But even with a Seawolves victory today, Stony Brook could still finish as No. 7. If Hartford beats Maine to deadlock the two teams at 9-7 and New Hampshire beats BU to improve to 10-6, the Seawolves would be seeded seventh and would face No. 2 New Hampshire. A Vermont win today would clinch a seventh seed for the Seawolves next week.

NEARING MILESTONE: Sophomore Sherry Jordan needs 81 points to reach 1,000 in her Stony Brook career. The Seawolves would need to win its America East Conference opener and play another game for Jordan to have a realistic shot at the 1,000-point club. If Stony Brook plays three more games, she would need to average 27 points per contest to reach the mark. If the Seawolves play four more games and reach the America East Conference title game, Jordan would need to average 20.3 points per game.

JORDAN LEADS THE WAY: Sophomore forward Sherry Jordan has certainly been the go-to player for the Seawolves the past two games. In Thursday's loss to Binghamton, Jordan was the only Seawolf who scored for the first 11 minutes of the second half. She scored the Seawolves' first 11 points and finished the game with seven of SBU's nine field goals in the second stanza. Jordan ended up with a game-high 25 points on 11-of-24 shooting and 11 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season. In Stony Brook's previous game against Albany, Jordan led all scorers with 23 points. She tallied eight of those points in a key 14-0 run in the first half that gave the Seawolves the lead for good.

LOOKING FOR AN OASIS: The Seawolves have suffered a scoring drought lately, averaging just 56.4 points per game in their last five outings. Stony Brook has reached 70 points just once during that span with a 70-58 victory over Albany on Feb. 24. However, the Seawolves have tallied 50 points or less in three of those games, including a season-low 46 against Hartford on Feb. 15 .

STREAKS: Stony Brook's wins and losses this season have seemed to come in bunches. SBU opened the season 1-4, but then the Seawolves won eight of their next nine games. Since then, SBU has gone 5-8, including five setbacks on the road.

LOOKING AHEAD: Stony Brook will compete in its first-ever America East Conference Tournament next week, with play beginning on Thursday, March 7. The tournament championship takes place on Saturday, March 9, at 3 p.m.