BOX SCORE

West Long Branch, NJ – Despite a career-high 16 points from freshman Kelly Clark (Neptune, NJ / St. Rose), Wagner was dealt a 67-56 loss in the final game at Boylan Gym. The Seahawks are now 7-21 and 3-14 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) while the Hawks improve to 16-12 and 10-7 in the NEC.

Monmouth sprinted out to a 13-0 lead over the game's first six minutes. Junior Naomi Augustin (Valley Stream, NY / Valley Stream Central) finally got Wagner on the board with a pair of free throws at the 13:40 mark. Using a 10-0 spurt, the Hawks extended the lead out to a half-high 21 points at 27-6 with 8:38 to go. The Green & White cut the deficit to 13 at 34-21 with 1:16 remaining thanks to a 9-2 run. Monmouth answered with two buckets and went into halftime up 38-21.

In the pivotal first stanza, Monmouth shot 48.4 percent from the floor while limiting Wagner to 30.8 percent shooting. The Hawks dominated the glass by a 23-14 margin, leading to a 13-3 advantage in second chance points.

The Seahawks opened the second half with an 8-4 run, highlighted by six points from Clark, cutting the Monmouth lead to 13 at 42-29 with 15:48 remaining. The Hawks answered with a 12-1 run to push the lead out to 54-30 with 12:44 remaining. Senior Jen Bender keyed the spurt with eight points while classmate LaKia Barker added the other four points. The resilient Seahawks would not go away, embarking on a 15-2 spurt, including 10-straight at one point, closing to within 11 at 56-45 with 6:06 to go. Monmouth's Marisa Jimenez answered with four points to push the lead out to 60-45 with 5:30 to play. Wagner would cut it to 10 but was unable to get any closer, losing 67-56.

Bender recorded game-highs in points (19) and rebounds (9) while Barber added 18 points to pace the Hawk offense.

Clark scored 14 of her career-high 16 points in the second half on 8-16 shooting while pulling down a team-best six rebounds to lead the Seahawks. Junior Andrea Reed (Pocomoke City, MD / Pocomoke) added 12 points.

Monmouth shot 44.4 percent (24-54) from the floor while Wagner checked in at 37.7 percent (20-53). The Hawks also won the battle of the boards (43-31). The Green & White forced 22 turnovers that led to a 23-16 advantage in points off turnovers, including a 21-3 count in the second stanza. The Seahawks also hit on 75.0 percent (15-20) from the charity stripe.

Wagner concludes its season at Quinnipiac Monday, March 2 at 7:00 pm.