Nov. 21, 2006
Box Score
STATEN ISLAND - Fueled by a 12-2 run over the last 3:50 the Wagner Seahawks rallied to win their first game of the season 72-65 over Lafayette in the Green & White's home-opener at the Spiro Sports Center earlier tonight.
With the win the Seahawks improve to 1-2 on the season while Lafayette is now 2-2. Wagner's win also moves them to 23-14 in home openers while ending their 21-game non-conference losing streak dating back to Dec. 28, 2003.
Down 65-63 junior Chelsey Bunyer (Shannon, IL / Eastland) hit a 17-foot jump shot with the shot clock winding down to tie it up at 65-65 with 2:46 remaining. The Seahawk defense then forced a turnover leading to a pair of Takesha Dye (Sr., Boynton Beach, FL / Daytona Beach CC) free throws to put Wagner up by an insurmountable margin of 67-65 with 2:07 remaining. The Seahawks closed out the Leopards with five free throws down the end to win going away 72-65.
Trailing 54-48 with 8:07 remaining Lafayette began to chip away at the Seahawks once double-digit lead ripping off a 13-4 run over the next 3:06, to go up by their largest lead of the game at 61-58 with 4:31 remaining. However, the Seahawks would answer as Andrea Reed's (Fr., Pocomoke City, MD / Pocomoke) driving lay-up cut it to one. After a lay-up by Vanessa Van De Venter put Lafayette back up by three at 63-60 with 3:50 to go, senior Ashley Robinson (Joliet, IL / Regina Dominican) drained her third and biggest three-pointer of the second half to tie the game up at 63-63 with six seconds remaining on the shot clock. Lafayette then went back up two before the Seahawks put the game on ice.
Bunyer's team-high 20 points, on 8-15 shooting, paced the Seahawks' offensive effort, which shot a blistering 52.9 percent (27-51) from the floor. The defense also limited the Leopards to just 33.9 percent shooting (20-59). Dye recorded her second-straight double-double with a career-high 12 points to go along with 12 rebounds. Reed finished with a career-high 10 assists against just two turnovers to go along with seven points and five rebounds in her first collegiate start while freshman John'a Poole (Middle River, NY / Eastern Tech) had 11 points on 5-9 shooting to round out the top-performers for the Seahawks.
The two teams played evenly in the beginning and were tied at nine apiece with 11:22 remaining in the first. The Seahawks would then score six straight points over the next 1:01 to take a 15-9 lead. Lafayette would cut the lead to 20-18 with 5:46 to go in the first only to see the Green & White answer right back with six straight points to make it 26-18 with 3:49 to go before cruising into halftime with a 30-22 lead.
In the first stanza, Wagner shot a stellar 48.1 percent (13-27) from the field while holding the Leopards to just 25.9 percent (7-27) shooting.
Van De Venter led three double-digit scorers for the Leopards with a game-high 21 points and eight rebounds.
The Green & White look to make it two in a row when they welcome La Salle to the Spiro Sports Center on Sunday, Nov. 26 at 2 pm.
