SAN JUAN, PR- The Western Michigan women's basketball team returns to Kalamazoo with a 1-1 run in the Puerto Rico Classic after losing a hard-fought battle to Stony Brook University on December 22, 2019.
The Broncos struggled behind Stony Brook on shooting from the field, converting 18 field goals off 56 attempts. Both sides were rife with turnovers, the Broncos accumulating 14 and the Seawolves 28 total. WMU scored ten points off SBU turnovers with 20 points in the paint. They performed strongest at the line, shooting 71.4 percent.
Senior
Kamrin Reed led Western Michigan with 16 points, one point shy of a season-high. She converted a career-high four threes off seven attempts.
Leighah-Amori Wool also scored in the double-digits with 12 points, adding a team-high three assists and four steals.
Breanna Mobley led the defenders with nine rebounds in the contest.
The Broncos jumped out to an early 12-8 lead after an 11-5 run with layups from Mobley and Wool and a three from Reed. The Seawolves responded with a 10-0 run to close out the second quarter outscoring Western Michigan 15 to 8.
Western Michigan trailed the Seawolves by three at the break, 23-20 while shooting 7-for-27 from the field. Despite only tallying nine turnovers to Stony Brook's ten with both teams tied at 20 rebounds, the Broncos were outshot from beyond the arc as the Seawolves went four-for-ten, adding six points in the paint.
WMU jumped out of the gate in the third quarter with their biggest run of the game, scoring ten straight points with help from Reed, Mobley, and graduate transfer
Chelayne Bailey, who went two-for-two at the line. But the Seawolves fought back with their own nine straight points and two threes to end the quarter at a tight 39-33.
Stony Brook held on to a slim lead in the final quarter with the Broncos getting close several times. Halfway through the frame, WMU shot three straight including another shot beyond the arc for Wool to bring the Brown & Gold within a point of their opponents. With 2:44 left on the clock, Reed came up again with her fourth three-pointer of the game to push the score to 46-45. Despite playing down to the wire against the Seawolves, the Broncos came up short as SBU pushed ahead in the final seconds to seal the win, 50-47.
The lead changed hands six times and the score was tied on three occasions.
Western Michigan now holds a 6-4 record overall while Stony Brook improves to 11-1. The Broncos will play at Loyola-Chicago in their next game, Monday, Dec. 30 at 8 p.m. ET.
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