BOX SCORE

Staten Island, NY – Juniior center Kelly Clark (Neptune, NJ/ St. Rose) tossed in 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting to lead four players in double-digits as Wagner went on to post to a convincing 67-50 victory over third-place Monmouth in Northeast Conference (NEC) action at the Spiro Sports Center.

In snapping their three-game losing streak, the Seahawks improve to 10-12 on the season, 3-8 in the NEC while the Hawks fall to 15-7, 7-4 in league play. The 10 wins surpass last season's win total of nine and are the most wins by the Seahawks since the 2003-04 team went 11-17.

Senior guard Stephanie McBride (Mechanicville, NY/ Catholic Central) matched her season high with 13 points while the "Canadian Connection" of sophomore guard Veronick Fournier (Gatineau, Quebec/ Montmorency) and sophomore forward Marie-Laurence Archambault (Montreal, Quebec/ Montmorency) added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Wagner shot 55 percent (11-of-20) from the field in the first half and used a 20-2 run in overcoming an early four-point deficit in building a 31-21 halftime lead. In the second half, senior guard Megan Mahoney (Staten Island, NY/ St. Peter's) set the tone by drilling a three-pointer six seconds into the half to stake the Seahawks to a 13-point lead at 34-21. Mahoney's three-pointer started an 8-2 run that she capped with a driving layup at the 15:11 mark which allowed Wagner to open its biggest lead of the game of 16 at 39-23.

Monmouth responded with a 16-7 run over the next 5:08, capped by a layup by Adriana Allen with 8:31 left that cut the deficit to seven at 48-41. Wagner answered by going back inside to the low post where Mahoney and senior forward Ashley Olsen (Staten Island, NY/ Notre Dame Academy) found Clark for two consecutive layups that increased the cushion to 11 at 52-41 with 6:58 to go.

Alysha Womack drained a three-pointer with 4:45 left to make it a 10-point game at 54-44 but that is as close as the Hawks would get as Wagner responded with layups by Clark and McBride to build a commanding 58-44 lead with 3:41 left.

For the game, Wagner shot a season-best 57 percent from the floor. Following their 55 percent effort in the opening half, the Seahawks improved to 59 percent (13-of-22) from the field in the second half. That 59 percent showing was the best shooting half Wagner has had this season. The Seahawks' previous best shooting half this season was in the first half vs. Colgate (11/23) when they hit 58 percent. Their previous best mark for a game was 50 percent vs. NJIT (12/7).

Wagner held Monmouth, which came into the game No. 1 in the NEC scoring margin at +6.8 points per game, to 31 percent shooting from the field, which included 4-of-17 from three-point range. In addition to out-shooting Monmouth 57 percent to 31 percent, Wagner held a 31-28 edge in the rebounding department with Olsen leading the way with a game-high nine boards.

Monmouth placed two players in double figures as Abby Martin led the way with 12 points followed by 11 from Erin Rooney.

This was a nip-and-tuck affair early in the game with four ties and four lead changes. Monmouth's Alexis Canady hit a three-pointer at the 13:29 mark to put Monmouth out in front by a 15-11 margin. This would be the last points scored by the Hawks for a span of 13:04 as the Seahawks embarked on a 20-2 run. This game-changing run began with a jumper by Fournier at the 13:10 mark and culminated in a jumper in the lane by senior center Nyoto Patterson (Teaneck, NJ/ Manhattan Center) with 2:56 left that staked the Seahawks to a 34-17 lead.

Adriana Allen finally ended the Monmouth scoring drought with a layup at the 25-second mark of the half. Included in the 20-2 run was a 14-0 spurt that spanned 9:10, from the 9:35 mark until Allen's layup. Following a Seahawk turnover, Abby Martin was fouled in the act of shooting with two seconds left in the half and her two free throws allowed the Hawks to end the half on a 4-0 run to draw to within 31-21 at the intermission. During the pivotal 14-0 Wagner run, the Seahawks forced the Hawks into 0-for-7 shooting and three turnovers.

Wagner shot that 55 percent from the field in the opening half, by hitting on 11-of-20 shots from the field. Archambault paced the Seahawks with eight first-half points while McBride and Clark tallied seven and six points, respectively. The Seahawks' stingy defense held Monmouth to 32 percent shooting (7-of-22). Martin led the Hawks with eight points in the first half while Rooney had six.

Wagner is next in action on Monday, February 7 when the Seahawks play host to Fairleigh Dickinson in a 7:00 p.m. clash.

NOTES – In Wagner's last home game back on Jan. 24 vs. Quinnipiac, Mahoney scored the 1,000-point of her career. In recognition of this achievement, prior to the game she was presented with a ball commemorating this milestone and was joined on the court by her parents Trish and John, along with Seahawk head coach Gela Mikalauskas. Today was also Alumni Day as the Seahawks welcomed back all of their former letterwinners to Grymes Hill. At halftime, Wagner's 21 members of the 1,000-point club were honored. This exclusive club includes current Seahawk assistant coach Maureen Hannafin who is third on the Seahawk all-time list with 1,602 points which she amassed from 1985-89. Then known as Maureen Coughlin, “Moe” remains the only player in Wagner women's basketball history to earn NEC Player of the Year honors, which she did in 1988-1989.