BOX SCORE

NEC TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

Staten Island, NY - Wagner clinched the No. 8 seed in the upcoming Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament despite losing on Senior Day to Saint Francis (PA) 78-68. The Seahawks clinched their first NEC playoff berth since the 2003-2004 campaign when Robert Morris defeated Mount St. Mary's 62-42 earlier in the day.

The Green & White (9-20; 6-12 NEC) will square off with the top-seeded Colonials (22-7; 17-1 NEC) in the first game from DeGol Arena in Loretto, PA on Saturday, March 6 at 12:00 pm. Advance Tickets are available through the Wagner College box office by calling (718) 420-4039.

The Red Flash improved to 14-14 and 11-7 in the conference with their fifth-straight win and will be the No. 5 seed in the NEC Tournament and will play No. 4 Monmouth (16-13; 11-7 NEC) at 2:30 with the winner playing the victor of the Wagner/Robert Morris contest on Sunday, March 7 at 1:30 pm.

In today's game, the Seahawks shot a solid 47.1 percent (24-51) from the floor, including 66.7 percent (6-9) from beyond the arc while holding the Red Flash to just 37.1 percent (23-62), including an anemic 26.1 percent (6-23) from long range. Saint Francis (PA) was able to gain control thanks to a commanding 43-32 rebounding advantage, including 18-6 on the offensive end, leading to a 16-6 margin in second-chance points. The visitors also parlayed 23 Seahawk miscues into a 21-9 advantage in points off turnovers.

Junior Ashley Olsen (Staten Island, NY / Notre Dame Academy) paced four double-digit scorers for the Green & White with 18 points, on 6-of-11 shooting, and eight rebounds. Classmate Megan Mahoney (Staten Island, NY / St. Peter's) hit for 15 points, on 6-of-10 shooting, with five rebounds despite being mired with early foul trouble. Sophomore Kelly Clark (Neptune, NJ / St. Rose) hit double-digits for the second-straight game with 12 points, highlighted by a perfect 8-of-8 from the line, while matching Olsen with eight rebounds. Junior Stephanie McBride (Mechanicville, NY / Catholic Central) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points, on 4-of-6 shooting.

Wagner raced out of the gates, taking a commanding 13-5 lead at the 14:48 mark of the first half. During the opening five-plus minutes, Olsen had nine points while the Seahawks hit on five of their first eight shots. Saint Francis (PA), meanwhile, was ice cold making just 1-of-9 during that time.

The Red Flash awoke from their early funk and busted off an 11-3 run, tying the game up at 16-16 with 10:09 to go in the half. The Green & White responded with four-straight points only to have Allison Daly drain consecutive three's. Another Olsen jumper tied the game up at 22-22 with 8:32 to play, before Saint Francis (PA) ripped off a game-changing 7-0 run in just 1:10. Wagner would cut the lead to four at 38-34 with 41 seconds to play in the half before Quinessa Johnson beat the buzzer with a jumper, giving the Red Flash a 40-34 halftime lead.

In the first half, Wagner shot 55.0 percent (11-20) from the floor and 81.8 percent (9-11) from the line but could not overcome a 25-12 Saint Francis (PA) rebounding advantage. The Red Flash also grabbed 14 offensive rebounds while not allowing a single Seahawk offensive rebound, which led to a 13-0 advantage in second-chance points. The Saint Francis (PA) defense also forced 14 turnovers, leading to a 19-5 advantage in points off turnovers.

The second half was a back-and-forth affair as neither team could rattle off more than five-straight points at a time before the other team answered. The Green & Whie cut the deficit to three on two occasions but could not get any closer in falling 78-68.

Samantha Leach scored a game-high 21 points, on 7-of-11 shooting, with six rebounds while reigning NEC Player of the Week Britney Hodges notched 19 points with eight assists. Allison Daly also chipped in with 15 points and six rebounds, rounding out the top-performers for the Red Flash.

NOTES: After qualifying for the NEC Tournament in each of the first 18 years, the Seahawks had missed the playoffs in each of the last five years before clinching today … Mount St. Mary's will miss for the first time in school history after losing 62-42 to Robert Morris … The Mount and Wagner were tied at 6-12 with the Seahawks gaining entry thanks to winning both meetings … Saint Francis (PA) has won 19 of the last 22 meetings and holds a 33-21 advantage in the all-time series … Mahoney averaged 23.0 ppg, on 59.4 percent (19-32) shooting, with 4.5 rpg over two games against the Red Flash … Today's game marks just the fourth game all year that the Seahawks had four student-athletes score in double-figures … Seniors Naomi Augustin (Valley Stream, NY / Valley Stream Central), John'a Poole (Middle River, MD / Eastern Tech) and Andrea Reed (Pocomoke City, MD / Pocomoke) were honored prior to the game for their four years of service to the program … All three will graduate with degrees in sociology in May … Augustin had two assists while Poole recorded nine points … Reed missed her fifth-straight game due to injury … Olsen has now grabbed exactly eight rebounds in four-straight games.