BOX SCORE

Staten Island, NY – Junior Andrea Reed's (Pocomoke City, MD / Pocomoke) jumper in the lane with just 1.3 seconds remaining gave the Wagner Seahawks a thrilling 53-51 victory over Long Island in Northeast Conference (NEC) action. With the win, the Seahawks improve to 5-9 and 1-3 in the NEC while snapping a four-game losing skid. LIU falls to 5-10 and 0-4 in the NEC.

Reed's game-winning shot was her second of the year and put the finishing touch on a game-ending 14-3 Wagner run over the final 7:01. After Li'Esha Garcia's lay-up put the Blackbirds up 48-39 the Seahawks immediately got to work. Freshman Kelly Clark (Neptune, NJ / St. Rose) hit a lay-up as the shot clock was expiring off a nifty feed from sophomore Stephanie McBride (Mechanicville, NY / Catholic Central). After a LIU turnover, McBride drilled a three pointer to make it 48-44. The Wagner defense held firm on the other end before Clark cut it to two with another lay-up. McBride then capped the 10-0 spurt with her third triple of the half while giving the Seahawks a 49-48 lead with 3:29 to go. Ashley Palmer split a pair from the line to tie it up at 49-49 with 3:05 to go. On the other end, McBride answered with a bank shot from the right corner only to see LIU come back with a Connie James jumper. After a Wagner time out with 12 seconds remaining, Reed drove and hit to give Wagner the 53-51 win.

Clark paced the Green & White with 12 points while pulling down five caroms. McBride also notched 11 points, eight of which came during the pivotal Wagner second-half run. Reed scored eight points with four assists.

Palmer, the NEC's leading scorer and rebounder, notched game-highs in points (17) and rebounds (11) to pace LIU. Justine Stevenson also added nine points off the bench.

Wagner used an 18-9 advantage in points off turnovers, including 12-0 in the second half, to eradicate a nine-point deficit. The Seahawks shot just 34.8 percent (23-66) for the game, but were5-16 from three point land while the Blackbirds hit on just 1-7 from long range. LIU also shot just 40.0 percent (6-15) from the free throw line while Wagner was a perfect 2-2.

The Seahawks started out the game strong with four-straight points from Clark. LIU then scored the next seven points to take a 7-4 lead. Wagner would then take its largest lead of the half at 14-9 with 11:50 to go, using a 10-2 spurt highlighted with a pair of three pointers from freshman Lindsay Corcoran (West Chester, PA / Villa Maria Academy) and junior Ashley Olsen (Staten Island, NY / Notre Dame Academy). The Blackbirds immediately answered with eight-straight points, which fueled a 16-4 run to give LIU its largest lead of the half at 25-18. The pesky Seahawks would not go away and scored six of the last eight points of the half to make it 27-24 at intermission.

In the opening stanza, both teams shot the ball poorly with LIU making good on 39.3 percent (11-28) and Wagner 30.3 percent (10-33). The Blackbirds outscored the Green & White 14-8 in the paint and 8-0 in second chance points.

Wagner heads to Central Connecticut on Monday, Jan. 12 at for a 7:00 pm tilt.