BOX SCORE

Staten Island, NY – Despite a career-high 20 points from sophomore Ashley Olsen (Staten Island, NY / Notre Dame Academy) and junior Andrea Reed's (Pocomoke City, MD / Pocomoke) third career double-double (11 points, 10 assists), Wagner was handed an 80-68 loss by Sacred Heart in Northeast Conference (NEC) action at the Spiro Sports Center.

The Seahawks are now 5-13 and 1-7 in the NEC while the Pioneers are 11-7 and 8-0 in the NEC.

Wagner outshot Sacred Heart 42.6 percent (26-61) – 41.2 percent (21-51) from the floor but the Pioneers connected on 29-36 (80.6 %) from the free throw line while the Seahawks made just 11-16 (68.8 %). Sacred Heart also shot 9-18 (50.0 %) from beyond the arc while the Green & White were just 5-17 (29.4 %) from long range.

Up 14 at intermission, the Pioneers started the second stanza with a 9-0 run to push the lead out to a game-high 23 at 48-25 with 17:37 to go. Wagner's offense then awoke, embarking on a 10-0 run to cut the lead to 13 at 48-35 with 14:25 remaining. Olsen got things going with a pair of jumpers before freshman Kanifa Hicks (Paterson, NJ / Passaic County Tech) converted a tough layup in traffic. Reed followed with a layup before finding freshman Kelly Clark (Neptune, NJ / St. Rose) for an easy layup.

After a Kaitlin Sowinski layup with 7:49 to go the Green & White defense did not allow another field goal until the 1:23 mark. Unfortunately, the Pioneers hit on 17-20 from the charity stripe and as a result the Seahawks were only able to cut the deficit to 11.

Olsen scored her team-high 20 points on 8-17 shooting while also collecting four rebounds in 34 minutes. Reed recorded her second double-double of the year and pulled down a team-best five rebounds.

Alisa Apo scored 17 of her game-high 24 points in the second stanza and was a perfect 12-12 from the charity stripe while handing out seven assists and six rebounds to pace four double-digit scorers for the Pioneers. Sowinski also had a big game with 17 points and a game-high 13 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the year.

The Pioneers built a 39-25 halftime lead thanks to 14 points, highlighted by four triples, from Maggie Cosgrove.

Wagner took its first and only lead of the game at 7-6 on a three-point jumper by Olsen off an assist by Reed with 16:03 remaining in the opening half. Olsen's trey capped a 5-0 burst which allowed the Seahawks to overcome a quick 6-2 start to the game by the Pioneers.

Sacred Heart then responded with a 16-3 run over the next 6:33 to open a comfortable 22-10 lead at the 10:11 mark of the half. Cosgrove scored seven points to key the run.

Wagner would score the next five points to draw to within seven at 22-15 on another Olsen three-pointer followed by a pair of free throws by Hicks. Sacred Heart then out-scored Wagner 17-10 over the final 6:50 of the half in seizing the 39-25 advantage at intermission. Sowinski added eight first-half points for Sacred Heart. Olsen led the way for the Seahawks in the opening stanza, as her 10 first-half points led a balanced attack that saw eight different Wagner players find the scoring column.

The Green & White return to action at St. Francis (NY) on Monday, January 26 at 7 pm.