Dec. 10, 2005

Box Score

MOON TOWNSHIP, PA - The Wagner Seahawks gave Robert Morris all they could handle before losing 75-61 in their Northeast Conference (NEC) opener despite a career-high 29 points from sophomore guard Chelsey Bunyer (Shannon, IL / Eastland) earlier tonight at the Sewall Center. With the loss the Green & White fall to 0-6 and 0-1 in the NEC while the Colonials improve to 4-3 and 1-0 in the NEC.

With the Colonials up 44-37 with 17:54 to play in the second half the Seahawks went on a 12-4 run over the next 5:35 to take the lead from the NEC preseason favorites at 49-48. The Seahawks' run began when senior guard Joy Gallagher (Hazleton, PA / Hazleton) hit a pair of free throws and then Bunyer hit a lay-up to cut it to three. After a pair of Colonial free throws pushed the lead back to five, sophomore guard Megan Sullivan (Brooklyn, NY / St. Francis Prep) hit one of her two three's to make the score 46-44. Following a Robert Morris bucket the Seahawks then climbed to within one at 48-47 on a Gallagher three pointer and then took the lead at the 12:19 mark at 49-48 on an Olivia Nagle (Fr., Acton, MA / Acton Boxborough) lay-up.

Robert Morris quickly wrestled the lead back on the next possession on a Natasha Summerville jumper that jump-started a 23-4 run over the next 10:08 to make the score 71-53 with 2:40 remaining. During the run, Robert Morris put the clamps on the Seahawk offense, holding them without a field goal until Bunyer finally broke the drought with a jumper at the 2:11 mark.

Bunyer scored a career-high 29 points, on a career-best 12 field goals on 20 attempts in a career-best tying 37 minutes of action.

The Seahawks played the second half with just eight available players after sophomore center Ali Ridge (Barrington, IL / Fremd) went down with an injury at the end of the first half. Ridge had eight points in 18 minutes in her first start of the year.

In the first half, the Seahawks looked nothing like a team picked to finish last in the NEC as they battled Robert Morris to an early 20-20 tie over the first 12-plus minutes as Bunyer dropped in 10 points in the early going. Robert Morris then went on a 11-4 run over the next 2:53 to make the score 31-24 with 4:09 to play in the half, spurred by six points from reigning NEC player of the year Sugeiry Monsac in her first action of the year. Wagner cut the lead to two on an Ashley Robinson (Joliet, IL / Regina Dominican) three pointer and a Ridge lay-up before the Colonials pushed the lead back to five heading into the half.

Wagner shot 37.5 percent from the field (24-64) for the game while the Colonials shot 45.9 percent (28-61) and dominated the glass outrebounding Wagner 45-33.

The Green & White return to non-conference action when they travel to ACC country to face the Clemson Tigers on Sunday, Dec. 18 at 3:00 pm.