Dec. 30, 2005
Box Score
STATEN ISLAND, NY - On the strength of a 23-0 second-half run the Columbia Lions defeated the Wagner Seahawks 75-65 earlier today at the Spiro Sports Center.
With the win the Lions improve to 4-6 while Wagner drops to 0-10. The Seahawks have now lost 17-straight games dating back to last season.
Sophomore center Ali Ridge (Barrington, IL / Fremd) had her finest game to date as a Seahawk, recording her first career double-double with a career-high 14 points while and a career-best tying 10 rebounds to go along with four blocks in only 29 minutes of action.
Down 46-41 with 12:02 to go, the Lions made their decisive run as they rattled off 23 unanswered points over the next 6:00 to go up by an insurmountable-margin of 64-46 for their biggest lead of the game. During the run the Lions were a perfect 9-9 from the field. Also over that time the Lions defense forced seven turnovers and allowed the Seahawks to get off only four shots.
Trailing 70-52 with 1:48 to go, the Seahawks rattled off a 13-4 run over the next 1:18 to cut the lead to nine at 74-65 with 30 seconds remaining, but would get no closer.
In the first half, the Seahawks jumped out to an early 12-0 lead as they converted their first five field-goal attempts. Columbia countered with a 16-4 run of their own, including a 10-0 spurt, to tie up the game at 16 with 9:23 to go in the first half. Wagner jumped back out in front at 24-20 with 5:45 remaining only to see Columbia rebound to go on a 9-0 run on their way to their first lead of the game at 29-24. Down 35-30 with 1:29 remaining, Wagner closed out the half with a 6-0 run to head into the locker room with their first halftime lead of the season at 36-35.
The Lions shot 36.5 percent (23-63) from the field compared to the Seahawks 34.2 percent mark (25-73). From the charity stripe the Lions were 24-31 while Wagner was just 8-14. The Green & White dominated the boards, outrebounding Columbia 50-43, including 18-11 on the offensive end.
The NEC's second-ranked scoring duo of senior guard Joy Gallagher (Hazleton, PA / Hazleton) and sophomore guard Chelsey Bunyer (Shannon, IL / Eastland) combined for 29 points and 13 rebounds. Gallagher had a team-high 15 points and six rebounds while Bunyer hit for 14 points and a career-high seven rebounds.
Michele Gage led the Columbia charge with 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds while Megan Griffith had a game-high 17 points and nine assists.
Wagner returns to action Wednesday, Jan. 4 at 7 pm for their NEC home opener against St. Francis (NY).
