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Pictured Above: Junior Guard Jordyn Peck (Photo by Molly Riley)

Loretto, PA – The Wagner women's basketball team opened Northeast Conference (NEC) play with an impressive and complete 76-60 victory at Saint Francis U with junior guard Jordyn Peck (Shaker Heights, OH/Shaker Heights) leading three players in double figures with 21 points, while freshman post player Sofia Roma (Richmond Hill, NY/Nazareth Prep) delivered career highs with eight points and 18 rebounds.

Today's victory was the Seahawks' third straight overall, following home wins over Stony Brook (76-70, 12/21) and Columbia (97-86, 12/30), and improved Wagner's season record to 3-9, 1-0 in league play. The Red Flash, which, like Wagner, also played a demanding non-conference schedule, falls to 1-11 on the season, 0-1 in conference play.

The Green & White will look to make it a 2-0 NEC start on Monday, January 5 when the Seahawks host Mount St. Mary's in a 4:00 p.m. tip in the first game of a doubleheader, with the Seahawk and Mountaineer men set to meet in the nightcap at 7:00 p.m. The Mount women will enter Monday's contest with an overall mark of 2-10 and an 0-1 NEC record, following a 66-44 loss at Robert Morris on Saturday, the fourth consecutive defeat absorbed by the Mountaineers.

In a battle of the NEC's top two leading scorers, Saint Francis U senior guard Alexa Heyward, who entered the game with a league-best 24.7 average, was held to 14 points on 4-of-18 shooting (0-of-7 from three-point range) while Seahawk sophomore guard Jasmine Nwajei (Rockaway Park, NY/Murry Bergtraum), the NEC's No. 2 scorer entering the day at 21.3, tossed in 17 points.

Following today's play, Heyward's lead in the NEC scoring race was reduced as the 5-8 shooting guard is now at 23.8 per game while Nwajei, the Seahawks' point guard, is now checks in at a 22.6 per-game clip.

In addition to her 17-point outing, Nwajei matched her career highs in rebounds (12) and steals (6), while equaling her season high of seven assists. Nwajei, who was coming off of a career-high 40-point, 10-rebound game vs. Columbia, notched her second straight double-double with her 17-point, 12-rebound affair today. For the New York City guard, it marked her third double-double of the season and eighth of her career.

Peck has now reached the 20-point plateau in two straight games, as her game-high 21-point outing today followed a career-high 31-point effort last time out vs. Columbia. The 5-6 lefthander has now hit for 20 or more points in a game four times on the season.

In addition to the 6-2 Roma's sterling eight-point, 18-rebound effort, which featured 14 boards on the defensive glass, Wagner also received a productive front-court effort from sophomore Jacki Dluhi (Middletown, NJ/Middletown South). The 5-11 forward, who has now started all 12 games for the Seahawks this season, tossed in a career-high 10 points on an efficient 5-of-7 shooting performance.

Sophomore guard Lyndsay Rowe (South River, NJ/St. John Vianney) added eight points to the Seahawks balanced offensive effort, highlighted by 2-of-4 shooting from three-point range, while dishing out a career-high five assists.

Wagner led 33-30 at halftime following a defensive-minded first half that saw the Seahawks outshoot SFU 33%-21%, limiting the Red Flash to 7-of-33 from the floor and 0-of-12 from beyond the arc. SFU led 14-7 approaching the midway point of the first half before Wagner went on a 10-1 in going on top by a 17-15 count and the margin between the teams never widened by more than five points the rest of the half.

The Seahawks opened the second half with a 13-4 run, capped by a layup by sophomore wing Maria Conyers-Jordan (Philadelphia, PA/Friends' Central) that staked Wagner to a 46-34 lead with 15:12 to go. The Green & White remained in command over the next nine minutes and when Peck knocked down a jumper with 6:32 left, the Seahawks led 61-45. SFU countered with an 11-2 run of its own and when Adila Gathers sank a free throw with 4:12 left, the Red Flash were to within seven at 63-56.

Wagner would answer with a dagger, however, as Peck kicked the ball to an open Rowe who drilled a three-pointer at the 3:41 mark, pushing the lead back to 10 at 66-56 and the Seahawks were able to maintain a double-digit lead the rest of the way en route to the 76-60 win.

For the game, the Seahawks shot 40.0% on 28-of-70 while holding SFU to 25.4% from the floor (17-of-67). The Seahawks' perimeter defense was particularly effective as the Red Flash were just 2-of-21 from beyond the arc (9.5%).

Led by Roma's sensational 18-rebound effort, Wagner held a 39-36 edge in the rebounding department.

Follow Wagner Athletics on Twitter (@wagnerathletics) for all the latest news and updates on the athletic department, @Wag_Swagg for news and updates on the women's basketball program.