BOX SCORE

Staten Island, NY - Wagner fought back from an 18-point deficit only to fall short at the buzzer against Robert Morris by a 70-67 count at the Spiro Sports Center. With the win, the Colonials extend their winning streak to 11 games while improving to 21-7 and 16-1 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) as the Seahawks drop their fifth-straight game while falling to 9-19 and 6-11 in the NEC.

Despite the loss, the Green & White remain very much alive in the race for one of the two remaining NEC Playoff berths. Wagner is tied at 6-11 with Mount St. Mary's and Quinnipiac while Fairleigh Dickinson is one game back at 5-12. The Seahawks controls their own destiny and need only to defeat Saint Francis (PA) in the season finale. If Mount St. Mary's wins and Wagner loses, the Seahawks will be eliminated as Quinnipiac and Fairleigh Dickinson meet in their respective season-finales. If the Bobcats win, they will finish with a record of 7-11 in the NEC. If FDU wins, it would be a three-way tie at 6-12 for the final playoff spot with FDU winning the three-way tiebreaker. In the event of a four-way tiebreaker, the Seahawks  would get in as the No. 8 seed.

Trailing 52-42 with 10:48 to go the the Green & White began to creep back into the game. Junior Kelly Clark (Neptune, NJ / St. Rose) completed an old-fashioned three-point play before connecting on two-more lay-ups. Junior Stephanie McBride (Mechanicville, NY / Catholic Central) capped the 10-0 spurt, which spanned 3:30, with a three pointer to tie the game up at 52-52 with 7:18 on the clock.

Angela Pace quickly responded with her first thee pointer of the year, reclaiming the lead at 55-52. After Clark split a pair from the line, Robert Morris pushed the lead out to six with a pair of jumpers. McBride answered right away with two more triples, tying the score up for the second time at 59-59 with 4:04 to go.

Wagner then had a chance to take its first lead of the game but Megan Mahoney (Sr., Staten Island, NY / St. Peter's) had her three pointer rim out as Vega Gimeno-Martinez corralled the loose ball. Pace then stretched the lead out to four with a pair of free throws and a lay-up, making it 63-59 with 2:36 to play. Mahoney momentarily quelled the bleeding with a lay-up before the Colonials expanded the lead out to seven at 68-61 with 40 seconds remaining.

The Seahawks would not go away as Mahoney drilled a three to cut it to four. Pace then split a pair from the line and junior Ashley Olsen (Staten Island, NY / Notre Dame Academy) hit a three pointer with 11.9 seconds remaining, cutting the deficit to 69-67 with 3.9 seconds remaining. Pace split another pair from the line and Mahoney's desperation three from the left side rolled around the rim before falling short as Robert Morris escaped with a 70-67 victory.

“We are really proud of the way our team fought back,” said head coach Gela Mikalauskas. “We were right there and got off a good shot at the end of the game and that's all you can ask for against the top team in the league.”

Wagner made a season-high 11 three pointers on a season-high 33 attempts, hitting on 33.3 percent but shot just 35.7 percent (25-70) from the floor. Robert Morris connected on 51.0 percent (26-51) from the floor, but was just 16.7 percent (2-12) from beyond the arc. The Colonials also struggled in the second half, connecting on 37.5 percent (9-24), including 14.3 percent (1-7) from three-point range.

Robert Morris owned the paint to the tune of 46-26, but the Green & White used a 25-16 advantage in points off turnovers to stay in the game.

Pace led all players with 23 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals while playing all 40 minutes. Mary Durojaye added 19 points while Monica Jones hit for 10 points.

Clark paced Wagner with 13 points and eight rebounds and was matched by freshman Marie-Laurence Archambault (Montreal, Quebec / Montmorency), who also hit for 13 points. Mahoney and McBride narrowly missed double-figures, contributing nine points apiece while Olsen had eight points, eight rebounds and four assists.

The Colonials started the game out with a 12-2 run and dominated the first stanza, shooting 63.0 percent (17-27) from the floor, including 72.7 percent (16-22) from inside the arc while racing out to a 39-27 halftime lead. Robert Morris pushed its lead out to a half-high 18 at 29-11 with 7:53 to go, but the Seahawks continued to fight and ended the half on a 16-10 spurt. The Colonials' first 15 buckets came in the paint en route to a dominating 32-10 advantage in points in the paint.

Wagner hosts Saint Francis (PA) on Senior Day at the Spiro Sports Center on Saturday, February 27 at 3:00 pm. Naomi Augustin (Valley Stream, NY / Valley Stream Central), John'a Poole (Middle River, MD / Eastern Tech) and Andrea Reed (Pocomoke City, MD / Pocomoke) will be honored prior to the game.

NOTES: Kanifa Hicks' (Paterson, NJ / Passaic County Tech) three pointer with 11:12 to go in the game was the first of her career after misfiring on 15-straight through her first two years … Clark's 13 points match her season-best, accrued earlier this year at Syracuse (12/2) … The Colonials have now won 11-straight against the Green & White … After shooting just 22.7 percent (5-22) to start the game, Wagner connected on 41.7 percent (20-48) the rest of the way … The Seahawks are now 0-18 when trailing with 5:00 minutes to play.