BOX SCORE

Staten Island, NY – Down 64-63 with 2:20 to go, Fairleigh Dickinson scored nine-straight points on its way to a 72-66 win over Wagner in Northeast Conference (NEC) action at the Spiro Sports Center. Mariyah Laury scored 12 of her 20 points in the second half while Christy Altamirano added 20 and 10, helping the Knights improve to 8-15 and 7-6 in the NEC while the Seahawks are now 6-17 and 2-11 in conference play.

FDU used a decisive 36-22 advantage in points in the paint while outscoring the Seahawks 15-7 to provide the difference in the hard-fought battle.

What was a defensive contest in the first half with both teams shooting below 35 percent turned into a shootout in the second stanza as Wagner and FDU each hit on an identical 53.6 percent (15-28) from the floor in the decisive half.

Clinging to a six-point lead at intermission, the Knights extended the lead out to a half-high nine at 57-48 with a 9-2 run, capped by a Jordan Sykes three pointer at the 7:16 mark. The Seahawks would quickly answer with an Ashley Olsen (So., Staten Island, NY / Notre Dame Academy) triple before Alyssa Mayrose quickly saw Olsen's basket with a layup to push the lead back out to eight at 59-51 with 6:23 to go.

Sophomore Stephanie McBride (Mechanicville, NY / Catholic Central) then knocked home her fourth triple of the night to cut the deficit to five. Following a FDU turnover, Olsen drilled another jumper to make it a three-point game to two. Laury momentarily silenced the Seahawks with a jumper in the paint only to see junior John'a Poole (Middle River, MD / Eastern Tech) again cut it to three with a jumper. Following another Knight turnover, freshman Kelly Clark (Neptune, NJ / St. Rose) drilled a pair at the line to make it a one-point game at 61-60 with 4:19 left on the clock. After forcing FDU to turnovers on the next two times down the floor, McBride was fouled and hit both free throws to give the Seahawks their first lead of the night at 62-61 with 3:02 to go. Mayrose responded with a layup to make it 63-62 FDU. Clark answered on the other end with a layup off a pretty pass from junior Andrea Reed (Pocomoke City, MD / Pocomoke), making it 64-63 Wagner with just 2:20 to go. Unfortunately for the Green & White, it would be their last lead of the night.

All told Wagner went on a 16-6 run over 4:56 and connected on 5-8 from the floor and 4-4 from the line.

Laury drilled a jumper to give FDU the lead at 65-64. On Wagner's ensuing two possessions, the Seahawks turned the ball over and missed a jumper. Altamirano split a pair from the line to make it a two-point game at 66-64 with 57 seconds remaining. The Green & White then missed a pair of shots and the Knights added to the lead with two Jordan Sykes free throws. FDU would tack on four-more points to go in front 72-64 before a Reed layup provided the final 72-66 tally.

McBride led the Seahawks in scoring for the second-straight game with 18 points, on 4-9 shooting from the outside, with five rebounds in a career-best 38 minutes of action. Reed had another outstanding game with 17 points, on 8-13 shooting, with six rebounds and six assists but was limited to 29 minutes due to foul trouble. Olsen hit for 11 points with six rebounds to round out the double-digit scorers for the Green & White.

Alyssa Mayrose (13 points) and Jordan Sykes (12 points) joined Laury and Altamirano in double-digits while Shenika Change grabbed a game-high 13 boards, helping the Knights to a 38-29 advantage on the glass, including 17-12 on the offensive end.

Wagner shot 43.6 percent (24-55) from the floor, including 45.5 percent (5-11) from long range while FDU hit on 42.4 percent (25-59), including 33.3 percent (4-12) from beyond the arc. Both teams shot the ball well from the charity stripe with the Knights checking in at 81.8 percent (18-22) and the Seahawks 76.5 percent (13-17).

The Green & White travel to LIU on Saturday, February 14 for a 2:00 pm Valentine's Day tussle with the Blackbirds.