In the paint

BY MARCUS HENRY

Stony Brook freshman Kirsten Jeter may turn about a real gem. The former Elmont standout who played under the late Gregg Petrocelli had a career-high 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting and five rebounds in the Seawolves upset win over Hofstra. She's a freshman, so of course there were some growing pains as she turned the ball over seven times. But that performance could be the springboard she needs. Stony Brook (3-4) is at Yale tonight in a non-league affair.

BY STEVEN MARCUS

Stony Brook vs. Hofstra. No matter the sport, the interest on both sides is significant.

Women's basketball is no exception and Tuesday night, for only the third time in Division I, the LI rivals get together. Host Hofstra has won the first two meetings, 92-65, in the 2005-2006 WNIT and then 82-67 last season. No easy choice here; the teams are in rebuilding mode. ``I think both teams are struggling a little bit,'' SBU coach Michele Cherry said. ``We both lost a lot of our offense from a year ago. I think these are two teams still trying to figure out our identities.'' Hofstra is 2-3; SBU 2-4.

It would appear SBU has more to gain if it can win. Amerca East beating a CAA opponent would suggest improvement in Cherry's first year. ``As far as a program marker, I don't know if it is or it isn't,'' she said. ``It would be a big win for us if we can get this game. Right now any game is a marker for us because we are so young.''

BY MARCUS HENRY

As the Stony Brook women's basketball team put the finishing touches on their 52-47 win over Sacred Heart, I thought back to last season. The squad lost two of the all-time great players in team history in Mykeema Ford and Jessica Smith. Leah Getz and Kelly Watson also departed. So did head coach Maura McHugh.

That's four starters, including the America East Player of the Year (Ford) and first-team All-America East selection (Smith), and a coach from an 18-10 team that missed the WNIT by an inch last year.

The team started the season on a positive note with a 66-57 win over Iona last Friday. The Seawolves followed that up with a dreadful 98-35 loss to UConn on Sunday. But you have to give them a pass on that one as few teams are going to come close to beating UConn this year.

The lopsided loss to the Huskies notwithstanding, this Seawolves team could end up being better than everyone thought. The key will be consistency on offense. The last couple of years Ford and Smith carried the load. With those two gone, it's going to take everyone in the rotation to keep the team in games. And so far that has been the case. Aly Young scored 14 points against Sacred Heart and 13 points against Iona. Dana Ferraro has eclipsed double figures in each of the last two games. Jodie Plikus (11) and Joia Daniels (10) both scored in double figures against Iona.

At some point first-year head coach Michele Cherry is going to have to find a go-to player at crunch time. But the season is less than a week old, so a feeling-out process will be in effect.