BOX SCORE
HIGHLIGHTS FROM ASHLEY OLSEN'S CAREER-HIGH 22-POINT NIGHT
Staten Island, NY – Senior forward Ashley Olsen (Staten Island, NY/ Notre Dame Academy) tossed in a career-high 22 points while pulling down a season-high 13 rebounds but it was not enough as Quinnipiac withstood a late Wagner rally in posting a 77-62 Northeast Conference (NEC) victory.
The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Seahawks as they fall to 9-10 on the season, 2-6 in NEC play while the Bobcats improve to 10-9 overall, 7-1 in league play.
In a first half that featured three ties and six lead changes, Quinnipiac used a late 9-2 run to seize a 33-25 lead at intermission. Wagner got off to a sluggish start in this contest, misfiring on their first five shots from the field while turning the ball over five times as Quinnipiac jumped out a quick 6-0 lead. The Seahawks finally got on the board at the 15:21 mark of the first half on a 17-foot jumper by Olsen who was fouled on the play and converted the old fashioned three-point play.
Olsen's three-point play kick-started a 9-2 run that saw the Seahawks take their first lead of the game at 9-8 on a twisting layup by senior guard Megan Mahoney (Staten Island, NY/ St. Peter's) with 12:48 to go in the half. With that bucket, Mahoney, who came into the game with 999 career points, reached the 1,000-point milestone for her career. She scored the first 498 points of her career while playing for Fordham from 2007-2008 before transferring to Wagner where she has now scored 506 points, giving her 1,004 career points.
Already leading 33-25, the Bobcats opened the second half with a 15-8 burst to open a 15-point lead at 48-33 on a layup by center Courtney Kaminski with 14:02 left. Wagner would slice the lead down to 11 at 49-38 on a Mahoney three-pointer with 12:46 to go The Bobcats then answered with a 10-1 run over the next 4:15 to open their biggest lead of the game of 22 at 61-39 following a pair of free throws by Kari Goodchild with 8:31 remaining in the game.
The Seahawks responded with a quick 11-2 run over the next 3:15 to cut the deficit to 11 at 61-50 with 5:16 to go. Olsen, who scored four of the 11 points in the run, started it off with two free throws that were followed by a three-point play by freshman forward Laura Amorosa (Kirkland, Quebec/ Phillips Academy), who was fouled while converting a fast-break layuup and completed the three-point play at 7:07 to make it 61-44. Wagner then received four points from reserve post players Brittney Thorpe (Newport News, VA/ Heritage) and Micaela McDonald (Elkhorn, WI/ Elkhorn Area) that cut the deficit to 61-48 with 5:42 left. Olsen followed with a jumper at 5:16 to make it a 61-50 game.
Wagner would get as close as nine at 68-59 following a Thorpe layup at the 3:16 juncture but that is as close as the Seahawks would get as Quinnipiac closed the game with a 9-3 run to fashion the final score of 77-62.
The Seahawks were plagued by turnovers throughout the game as Wagner turned the ball over 25 times, including 16 in the first half that helped the Bobcats build their eight-point halftime cushion. For the game, Quinnipiac held a commanding 22-11 edge in points off turnovers. Both teams shot 40 percent from the field while Quinnipiac out-rebounded Wagner 38-33.
Olsen was the lone Seahawk in double figures as Amorosa was next with nine points. The Canadian had played a total of 25 minutes in seven previous games and had never scored a point until tonight. In addition to the nine points, she contributed one rebound, one assist and one steal in a productive 11-minute stint. Thorpe was next with a season-high eight points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting night while McDonald followed up her career-high six-point outing vs. Sacred Heart on Saturday with a five points tonight.
The Seahawks' bench outscored the Bobcats' bench 25-6 but two of Wagner's leading scorers, Mahoney and sophomore forward Marie-Laurence Archambault (Montreal, Quebec/ Montmorency), who each came into the game having scored in double figures in five straight games, were held to five and four points, respectively.
Quinnipiac displayed an incredibly balanced offensive attack as all five starters hit for double figures, led by Felecia Barron's 22 points. Jacinda Dunbar followed with 16 points while Brittany McQuain, Kaminski, and Goodchild added11 points apiece. McQuain had a double-double as she added 11 rebounds to her 11-point outing.
This game was deadlocked at 16-16 following a jumper by sophomore Archambault at the 7:47 mark of the first half. A three-pointer by Goodchild nine seconds later was matched by an Archambault three-pointer at the 7:05 mark that drew Wagner to within one point at 19-18. The Bobcats then went on an 11-2 tear to open their biggest lead of the half at 30-20 with 2:29 to go.
Olsen played a brilliant first half on both ends of the floor with nine points and nine rebounds all of which were on the defensive end. Olsen entered the game ranked second in the NEC in defensive rebounds per game (7.22) and tied for fourth in overall rebounds per game (8.3).
Junior center Kelly Clark (Neptune, NJ/ St. Rose) added five first-half points including the second three-point attempt and make of her career. On Saturday, Clark drilled the first three-pointer of her career with 0.7 seconds left in the game to propel Wagner to an exhilarating 66-65 win over Sacred Heart. With 1:31 remaining in the first half vs. Quinnipiac, Clark nailed another three-point jumper which makes her 2-of-2 for her career from beyond the arc.
Wagner is next in action on Saturday, January 29 when the Seahawks travel to Central Connecticut St. to meet the Blue Devils in a 1:00 pm contest.
NOTES – Olsen now has five double-doubles on the season and 12 for her career. It marked Olsen's second strong game this season against Quinnipiac as she turned in an 18-point, nine-rebound outing vs. the Bobcats in an 85-72 loss on Dec. 4 in Hamden, CT. Wagner started the game with a big lineup as rugged 6-3 senior center Nyoto Patterson (Teaneck, NJ/ Manhattan Center) got the nod in place of the 6-2 Archambault against the tall Bobcat front line. Senior guard Stephanie McBride (Mechanicvville, NY/ Catholic Central) sat out her third straight game due to a laceration on her forehead sustained vs. Robert Morris on Jan. 10. McBride also missed three games in December to a knee injury.
