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Stony Brook, NY – Though sophomore guard Jordyn Peck (Shaker Heights, OH/Shaker Heights) tossed in 20 points and freshman guard Jasmine Nwajei (Rockaway Park, NY/Murry Bergtraum) recorded her first double-double with 14 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, Eastern Michigan was able to stave off Wagner 69-56 in the first round of the Seawolves Holiday Classic hosted by Stony Brook University.

With the victory, the high-flying Eagles of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) improve to 8-1 on the season while the Seahawks fall to 1-8 in spite of a gritty, determined effort.

Wagner did a tremendous job defensively on the afternoon as Eastern Michigan entered the game ranked No. 5 nationally in scoring at 90.5 points per game, fresh off a 104-96 win over Detroit Mercy, and had scored 75 or more points in a school-record eight straight games. Against the Seahawks, the Eagles were held to a season-low 69 points scored while shooting just 23-of-73 (32%) from the field, which was also a season low.

Sweeney led three players in double figures, leading Eastern Michigan with 18 points while Desyree Thomas and Natachia Watkins tallied 17 and 12 points, respectively.

Wagner will meet host Stony Brook on Sunday at 2:00 pm.

After falling behind 33-17, Wagner closed the half with a 10-6 spurt over the final 3:08 to trail by 12 at 39-27 at halftime. Peck led Wagner with nine first-half points while Nwajei chipped in with eight. The Seahawks out-shot the Eagles 35% to 33% in the opening stanza but committed 16 turnovers while being credited with just three assists on eight made field goals.

Eastern Michigan, which received 12 first-half points from Watkins, had five assists on 14 made field goals and turned the ball over just five times. The Eagles held a slim 25-23 rebounding edge in the first half.

Peck brought the Green & White to within 39-29 by opening the second half with a jumper, but the Eagles went on a 12-4 run , capped by a three-point jump shot by Cha Sweeney. This propelled the Eagles' to 51-33 over the Seahawks, which was the biggest lead of the game. The second-half opening run by Eastern Michigan prompted a timeout by Seahawk second-year head coach Lisa Cermignano at the 15:35 mark.

Nwajei shook free for a pair of buckets and then found 6-3 center Ugo Nwaigwe (Valley Stream, NY/Valley Stream South) in the lane for a pair of baskets, sandwiched around a Nwaigwe put back, as the redshirt-sophomore successfully navigated her way through heavy traffic. Nwaige's personal 6-0 run, capped by a layup at 10:32, made it a 10-point game at 53-43.

After Thomas made a layup, it was a 55-43 game at the 10:02 mark. The Seahawks answered with a quick 7-0 burst, with guard Lyndsay Rowe (South River, NJ/ St. John Vianney), the consistent, sweet-shooting lefty, beginning the run with two free throws and a steal, the latter leading to a Nwajei jumper at 9:04 that made it 55-47.

Nwaigwe then snatched a defensive rebound in traffic that led to a Nwajei kick-out three-pointer, off a pretty feed from Rowe, that made it 55-50 with 8:22 to play in the game. After Sara Stone made one of two free throws at the 6:46 mark to make it 56-50, Peck stuck a 15-foot jumper with 6:21 to play as the confident, charging Seahawks drew to within four points at 56-52.

A Thomas jumper at 5:34 pushed the lead back to six at 58-52 before Wagner countered with a pair of free throws by Rowe at the 5:18 juncture to again make it a four-point deficit at 58-54. The teams then traded points as two Janay Morton free throws at 4:48 were answered by a driving layup by Peck at 3:21 to make it 60-56 with just 3:21 left to play.

This is as close as the Seahawks would get, however, as the Eagles executed to perfection the rest of the way, sealing it with a game-ending 9-0 run. The decisive spree began with a steal and layup by Sweeney, which made it a 62-56 game with 2:49 to go. Following a missed jumper by Peck, Thomas delivered the dagger, draining a three-pointer from the head top of the key at 1:52, which off of a Sweeney feed and extended the lead to nine at 65-56.

With Wagner now forced to foul, Sweeney closed the day's scoring by going 4of-4 from the charity stripe over the final 1:13.  A key factor in the loss for Wagner was the season-high 31 turnovers committed by the Seahawks.

NOTES

• Redshirt freshman guard Jazmine Hamlet (Queens, NY/Francis Lewis) gained the first start of her career this afternoon as Cermignano elected to begin the game with a smaller, quicker lineup. Hamlet and freshman forward Taylor Butigian (Rockaway Park, NY/Christ the King) gained starting nods in place of Nwaigwe and senior forward Laura Amorosa (Kirkland, Quebec/Phillips Academy), while Nwajei, Rowe, and Peck each made their ninth consecutive start. So, at the outset, Wagner featured a lineup of three true freshmen in Butigian, Nwajei and Rowe, along with the redshirt-freshman Hamlet and Peck, a sophomore.
 
• Prior to her hustling 11-rebound effort today, Nwajei's previous high came in the Seahawks' 70-57 win at Monmouth (11/14) when she corralled six boards.
 
• Peck, who entered the game ranked No. 4 in the NEC in scoring, is now up to 18.6 points per game. The crafty, 5-6 lefthander has now scored 20 or more points in five of Wagner's nine games this season.
 
• Nwaigwe, who entered today's play ranked No. 1 in blocked shots, increased her average to 3.2 blocks per game and her season total to 28 with five more blocked shots vs. the Eagles, in addition to six points and seven rebounds in a spirited 20-minute stint off the bench. In addition to averaging 5.2 points per game, the 6-3 Nwaigwe is the team leader at 7.3 rebounds per game.
 
• The ever-consistent Rowe now averages 7.7 points an outing following her nine-point effort vs. Eastern Michigan. A perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line today, Rowe is now at 79% for the year from charity stripe.

• This was the first-ever meeting between the Seahawks and the Eagles. Wagner is now 0-4 all-time vs. the MAC.