FINAL STATS

PHOTO GALLERY

Staten Island , NY – Senior center Kelly Clark (Belmar, NJ/ St. Rose) recorded her fifth career double-double with 18 points and 11 reboounds while freshman guard Jacqui Thompson (Southampton, PA/ St. Basil Academy) added 15 to spearhead the Wagner College women's basketball team to a 66-54 victory over Columbia in the Seahawks' 2011-2012 home opener.

Clark, who led the Northeast Conference in shooting percentage last season (54.5 percent), shot a sizzling 7-of-8 from the field, was 4-of-6 from the free throw line and added two blocks and a steal.Thompson's 15 points came on 5-of-7 shooting, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, and a 3-of-4 effort from the charity stripe. In addition, the 5-3 dynamo dished out a game-high four assists.

The victory evens Wagner's record at 1-1 on the young season while Ivy League member Columbia falls to 0-3.
After the teams battled to a 26-26 stalemate at halftime, the Seahawks took over in the second half, shooting a blistering 13-of-20 (65 percent) from the field to win going away. With Wagner leading 36-35, Thompson drilled a three-point jumper with 15:39 left to ignite an 18-7 run over a span of 8:26 as the Seahawks built a commanding 57-42 edge with 7:13 left. Thompson scored eight points during the run, adding another three-pointer and a pair of free throws. The closest Columbia would get the rest of the way was 12 on two occasions, the first at the 5:17 mark on two Lizy Stachon free throws and then again with 19 seconds to go when a Taylor Ward three-pointer cut the deficit to 66-54, which wound up being the final score.

Wagner received contributions from a host of players in fashioning the win. In addition to Clark's 18 and Thompson's 15, junior forward Marie-Laurence Archambault (Montreal, Quebec/ Montmorency) and redshirt junior forward Chanez Robinson (Newark, NJ/ Malcom X. Shabazz) added eight points apiece, with Robinson also pulling down eight rebounds and Archambault dishing out three assists. Junior guard Veronick Fournier (Gatineau, Quebec/ Montmorency) chipped in with seven points, redshirt junior guard Kanifa Hicks (Paterson, NJ/ Passiac County Tech) and freshman guard Shawn-Marie Heiliger (Charlotte, NC/Charlotte Catholic) contributed four points apiece while freshman forward Stephanie Blais (Sherbrooke, Quebec/ Montmorency) had a bucket for two.

For the game, Wagner was a robust 55 percent (24-of-44) from the floor while holding the Lions to 33 percent (17-of-52). The rebounding battle was nearly even with the Seahawks holding a slim 33-32 advantage.
 
In a first half that was tight throughout, with the biggest lead taken by either team being five. The Seahawks jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead on a Clark layup followed by a Heiliger three-pointer. The Lions answered with a 6-0 run to take their first lead on a Mellisa Sahafer layup with 16:37 left in the half.

After four lead changes, Columbia went on a 9-4 run to open its biggest lead of the half of five at 24-19 on a Miwa Tachibana jumper at the 6:23 mark. Archambault then countered with a three-pointer with 5:58 left to draw Wagner to within 24-22. A pair of Tachibana free throws grew the Lions' lead to 26-22 before Wagner ended the half on a 4-0 spurt to close the half and forge the halftime tie. Clark scored all four points with a layup at the 3:23 mark off a pretty feed from Hicks, followed by a pair of Clark free throws with 16 seconds to go in the half.

Clark led all scorers in the half with 12 while Robinson led in the rebounding department with four. For Columbia, Bradford and Tachibana led the way in the opening half with seven points apiece.

Wagner is next in action on Saturday, November 19 when the Seahawks travel to Newark, NJ to meet NJIT with tip-off set for 2:00 pm.