FINAL STATS

PHOTO GALLERY

Queens, NY – St. John's used a 16-0 run midway through the first half to break open a tight game en route to registering a 54-34 victory over Wagner at the Carnessecca Arena.
 
With the loss, the Seahawks fall to 1-3 on the season while the Redstorm of the BIG EAST Conference even their record at 2-2. 
 
The Seahawks hit five of their first seven shots from the field to start the game, a sizzling 71 percent clip, in taking an early 11-10 lead. Redshirt junior guard Kanifa Hicks (Paterson, NJ/ Passaic Tech) had two quick buckets during this stretch for the Seahawks.
 
St. John's then embarked on its 16-0 run, spanning 9:00, in turning that 11-10 deficit into a 26-11 lead with 2:18 to go in the half. When junior forward Marie-Laurence Archambault (Montreal, Quebec/ Montmorency) drained a three-pointer with 2:02 remaining in the half to make it 26-14, it ended a 9:16 scouring drought for the Seahawks.
 
St. John's took a 27-16 lead into halftime and then opened the second half with an 11-0 run, continuing its fine defensively play by holding Wagner scoreless for the first 4:33 of the half in opening a 22-point lead at 38-16 with 15:35 left to play. The Seahawks scored their first points of the second stanza when Thompson hit a driving layup at the 15:17 mark of the second half. The Redstorm opened their biggest lead of the game of 27 at 45-18 with 10:08 left on a Shenneika Smith layup.
 
Both teams played excellent defense throughout the game. St. John's was held to 37% (22-of-59) shooting by the Seahawks' variety of zone and man-to-man defense. On the offensive end, after that initial burst, the Seahawks wound up shooting just 25 percent (13-of-51).
 
Smith and Eugeneia McPherson paced the Redstorm with 16 and 15 points, respectively. For Wagner, the Seahawks were led by Archambault's team-high nine points which came on 3 of-8 shooting from beyond the arc. Senior center Kelly Clark (Belmar, NJ/ St. Rose) added seven points and a team-high seven rebounds while freshman point guard Jacqui Thompson (Southampton, PA/ St. Basil Academy) and Hicks chipped in with six and five points, respectively. Thompson, the reigning NEC Rookie of the Week, handed out a team-high four assists.  
 
Wagner was credited with 11 assists on its 15 made field goals but was victimized by committing 21 turnovers.
 
ON TAP NEXT – NEC/Patriot League Thanksgiving Classic: The Seahawks are next in action on Friday, November 25 when the Seahawks travel to Lafayette in the first round of the inaugural NEC/Patriot League Thanksgiving Classic. Tip for the Wagner-Lafayette game is set for 4:00 p.m. In the second game of the Thanksgiving Classic, Monmouth will represent the NEC vs. Lehigh. The four teams will then reconvene in Staten Island on Sunday, November 27 when Monmouth meets Lafayette at 2:00 pm followed by Wagner hosting Lehigh at 4:00 p.m.
 
NOTES – Due to massive traffic delays, it took the Wagner team bus 2.5 hours to make the trek from the Grymes Hill Campus to the St. John's campus, located in Utopia, Queens. The Seahawks arrived at the arena at 5:30 pm for the 6:00 pm tip. The officials pushed back the starting time to 6:10 pm due to Wagner's late arrival. The game was available to a potential audience of 70 million people via broadband on ESPN3.