Galloway, N.J. – Senior Sophie Pruden (Carrboro, N.C./Chapel Hill) started the new campaign on the right foot with a season-opening double-double in the opening round of The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey Tip-Off Tournament on Friday night.

Pruden tallied 12 points and matched her career-high of 12 boards as the Seahawks (0-1) dropped a 69-50 decision to the hosts. St. Mary's will now face Farmingdale State College in tomorrow's consolation game at 1:00 pm. Farmingdale State fell 72-55 to Western Connecticut State University in tonight's other tournament action.

Pruden scored the first basket of the game off of the opening tip but the Ospreys (1-0) used a 15-4 run to claim their biggest lead of the game, 15-6 at 12:21. However, St. Mary's was only down 27-24 three at the half as the Seahawks posted a 13-8 run over the final eight minutes of the first half. First-year guard Haley Riebling (Ellicott City, Md./Seton Keough) capped the run with her third three-pointer of the half.

Riebling paced the Seahawks at intermission with nine points while Pruden had seven boards and four points as the team shot 35.7% in the first 20 minutes. St. Mary's stayed even with Stockton on the boards as both teams pulled down 21 rebounds each.

The Ospreys increased by just two points to start the second half before St. Mary's began to claw its way back in, retaking a 33-32 lead at 13:19 on a long-range shot by junior guard Matti Vagnoni (Chevy Chase, Md./Stone Ridge School). The two teams traded one-point leads over the next three minutes before Stockton went up by four following five straight points by junior center Kelsey Brown (Washington Township, N.J.).

Vagnoni and Pruden brought the Seahawks right back in, giving their team their last advantage of the game of 42-41 at 7:05. Stockton pulled away with a 13-2 run and the hosts led by double digits the rest of the way.

Stockton played a cleaner second half as the Ospreys only committed five turnovers to St. Mary's 10. For the game, the hosts edged the Seahawks in rebounding by a 48-43 margin. Sophomore guard Anna McClain (Durham, N.C./Carolina Friends School) joined Pruden with double-digit rebounds as McClain grabbed a career-high 11 (all on the defensive end) and almost had a double-double of her own, dishing a career-best nine assists.

Four Ospreys scored in double digits as junior guard Alex Nardoza (Fords, N.J.) led the way with a game-best 22 points while Brown finished with 16 points and 10 boards off the bench.

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