Feb. 6, 2007
Box Score
Staten Island, NY - The Sacred Heart Pioneers showed the Wagner Seahawks why they are among the best in the NEC with a convincing 79-54 victory over the Green & White earlier tonight at the Spiro Sports Center. With the win, the Pioneers improve to 15-8 and 10-2 in the NEC while the host Seahawks fall to 3-20 and 1-11 in conference-play.
Despite the loss junior forward Ali Ridge (Barrington, IL / Fremd) blocked five shots to set the Wagner career mark with 154 passing Meredith Kerns. Ridge also picked up her first double-double of the year and the fourth of her career with 10 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Wagner charge.
Sacred Heart picked up right where they left off from the last meeting scoring the first eight points of the game before senior Jessie Collins (Crofton, MD / Arundel) knocked in one of her two first-half threes to quell the run. Ridge then hit two free throws to cut the deficit to 8-5 with 13:28 to go in the half. The two teams would then exchange baskets over the next 4:25 before Sacred Heart rattled off a 12-2 run, fueled by six points from Amanda Pape and two three pointers from Katie Brown, to go up 30-15 with 4:31 to go in the half on their to a 36-20 lead at intermission.
In the pivotal first half the Pioneers shot 50 percent (14-28) from the floor, including 5-9 from long-range while forcing 14 Seahawk turnovers that led to 19 points. However the visitors could not shake the Seahawks thanks in large part to a 22-14 advantage on the glass for Wagner, including 12-5 on the offensive end.
Early in the second half, the Seahawks would cut the lead to 10 at 42-32 with 16:03, but the Pioneers answered Wagner with five-straight points. With the Seahawks down 60-44 with 7:49 to go Sacred Heart ended any aspirations of a Seahawk comeback with a 10-0 run, sparked by eight points from Pape, the reigning NEC Player of the Year.
Also standing out for the Green & White besides Ridge was junior Chelsey Bunyer (Shannon, IL / Eastland), who had a team-high 12 points, and the guard tandem of Collins (9 points, 6 boards, 5 assists) and freshman Andrea Reed (Pocomoke, MD / Pocomoke) (9 points, 5 boards, 5 assists).
Pape's game-high 23 points paced a red-hot Sacred Heart shooting-attack that hit on 53.8 percent (28-52) from the floor, including 6-14 from beyond the arc. Jasmine Walker also contributed with 15 points, 13 of which she scored in the second, to go along with a team-high seven rebounds, while Kerri Burke had five assists to set the Sacred Heart career-record.
The Seahawks hit on just 35.6 percent (21-59) from the floor and 23.5 percent (4-17) from beyond the arc but outrebounded the Pioneers 38-32, including 19-10 on the offensive glass.
The Seahawks are now off for six days before hosting Monmouth right back at the Spiro Sports Center on Monday at 7 pm.
