Jan. 28, 2008
Box Score
Staten Island, NY - Senior guard Chelsey Bunyer (Shannon, IL/ Eastland) poured in 20 points to lead four players in double figures as Wagner built a 15-point second half lead and then withstood a furious Mount St. Mary's comeback en route to a stirring 75-70 Northeast Conference victory over the Mountaineers.
The victory ended a 16-game losing streak for the Seahawks and was Wagner's first win since defeating Princeton 75-49 back on Nov. 13. With the win, the Green & White are now 3-16 on the year and 1-7 in NEC play. Mount St. Mary's falls to 6-15 and 4-6 in league play.
Both teams were on target from the perimeter throughout the contest as Mount St. Mary's shot 11-19 from beyond the arc (57.9 percent) while Wagner went 10-18 from three-point range (55.6 percent). For the game, the Seahawks shot a season-best 58.3 percent (28-48) while the Mount shot a respectable 47.9 percent (23-48) from the field.
Bunyer's 20-point night featured 9-15 shooting and was the fourth time she has hit for 20 points this season. Wagner is 3-1 in those games. Junior Casey Stokes (Hummelstown, PA / Lower Daupin) added a career-high 15 points. In the frontcourt, senior forward Ali Ridge (Barrington, IL/ Fremd) posted her fifth career double-double and first of the year with 14 points and 10 rebounds while classmate Ieva Sulskyte (Vilnius, Lithuania/ Daytona CC) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.
Wagner played a crisp first half in building a 33-27 lead at intermission, keyed by the hot-shooting of Stokes whose 15 points and five three-pointers, both career highs, all came the opening half. With the Seahawks leading 30-27, freshman guard Stephanie McBride (Mechanicville, PA/ Catholic Central) nailed her second triple of the first with 10 seconds left to give Wagner a 33-27 halftime lead.
The Seahawks got out of the gates quickly in the second half, embarking on a 15-3 run, with Ridge, who was a perfect 6-6 shooting on the night, keying the spurt with seven points on three field goals and a free throw. Sophomore Andrea Reed (Pocomoke City. MD/ Pocomoke) capped the run with a jumper at the 15:01 mark, which staked Wagner to a 48-33 lead. Wagner was still in control, leading 52-37 with 14:17 left on a Bunyer three-pointer before the Mountaineers put together a 25-9 run that spanned 8:41 to take a 62-61 lead on a pair of free throws by Lauren Howell.
Howell, who finished with a game-high 23 points, was a perfect 7-7 from three-point range on the evening with three of those treys coming during the Mount's pivotal run. Another key factor in the Mount-spurt came at the 9:21 mark when Reed went to the bench with her fourth personal foul with Wagner leading 59-51. With Reed on the bench, the Mount outscored Wagner 11-2. By the time Reed re-entered the game, at the 5:36 mark, Wagner trailed 62-61.
A pair of free throws by the Mount's Tiffany Green gave the Mountaineers a three-point edge at 68-65 with 2:12 left. Sulskyte answered with a huge three-pointer from the top of the key, off a feed from Stokes, with 2:01 left to play, which tied the game at 68-68. Bunyer then put the Seahawks up for good with a 17-foot jumper from the right side off an assist by Reed with 1:26 to go to make it 70-68. Two free throws by Sulskyte at the 40-second mark extended the lead out to 72-68.
After Reed split a pair from the line to make it 73-68, Green hit a driving lay-up to cut it to 73-70 with 10 seconds to go. The Green & White would add two more from the charity stripe to win going away 75-70.
The win marked the first time head coach Gela Mikalauskas has ever defeated Mount St. Mary's, after losing her first seven games with the Maryland-based school. Wagner is next in action on Saturday, Feb. 2 when the Seahawks travel to Central Connecticut for a 2:00 pm tip-off.
