FINAL STATS

SENIOR NIGHT CEREMONY (Video)

Staten Island, NY – Fairleigh Dickinson's lightning-quick senior guard Mariyah Laury pumped in 23 points to offset a hot three-point shooting night by junior forward Marie-Laurence Archambault, who was 4-of-5 from beyond the arc, as the Knights overcame a 13-point early second half deficit in overtaking the Seahawks 66-62 in Northeast Conference (NEC) action.

Wagner shot a solid 47 percent (13-of-28) from the field in the first half while holding the Knights to 19 percent (6-of-32) as the Seahawks took their biggest halftime lead of the season at 31-21. An Archambault three-pointer with 17:56 to play off a feed from junior guard Veronick Fournier (Gatineau, Quebec/ Montmorency) staked Wagner to its biggest lead of the game at 36-23.

The Seahawks still appeared in control when senior center Kelly Clark (Neptune, NJ/ St. Rose) hit a layup off a Fournier feed that provided Wagner with its last double-digit lead of the game at 46-35 with 14:22 left. Following this layup, the Seahawks would endure a 7:44 scoreless drought while FDU was able to score 12 points in this stretch in taking a 47-46 lead on a Desiree Crawford jumper with 7:52 left.

During Wagner's pivotal dry spell, the Seahawks went 0-for-5 from the field while turning the ball over five times. Archambault stemmed the tide by sinking a jumper at the 6:38 mark after receiving a pass out of the post from senior forward Brittney Thorpe (Newport News, VA/ Heritage) to put the Seahawks back on top 48-47 at the 6:38 mark.

The teams then traded free throws until Crawford put the Knights on top 51-50 with a layup at the 5:13 juncture. Two free throws by Clark with 4:52 left gave Wagner its last lead of the game at 52-51. A layup by Erika Livermore followed by a Crawford three-pointer gave FDU a brief 55-52 lead before Wagner countered with two free throws by freshman point guard Shawn-Marie Heiliger (Charlotte, NC/ Charlotte Catholic) at the 2:35 mark, cutting it to 55-54. FDU then turned it over on its next possession and when Clark went 1-of-2 from the line at 2:23 the game was tied at 55-55.

A missed layup by Laury was followed by a Wagner turnover and the Knights made the Seahawks pay when Danielle Panky drilled a three-pointer from the head of the circle with 1:44 left to put FDU in the lead for good at 58-55. On the ensuing possession, Fournier misfired a potential game-tying three-pointer and Laury followed by hitting two free throws with 1:19 to go to put FDU in command 60-55 en route to the 66-62 win.

The Seahawks did a good job making Laury work from the perimeter as she was just 6-of-22 from the field. But at the foul line, it was another story, as Laury was a perfect 10-of-10 from the charity stripe. In addition to Laury's tough shooting night, fellow Knight starting guard Pankey was just 3-of-18 meaning that FDU survived this game with its starting backcourt going a combined 9-of-40 from the floor.

Overall, FDU shot just 31 percent (21-of-69) from the field and an even chillier 19 percent (4-of-21) from beyond the arc.
While Wagner was a respectable 44 percent (22-of-50) from the field and 39 percent (5-of-13) from three, the Seahawks were undone by committing 25 turnovers as compared to FDU's 16. Crawford and Pankey finished with 15 and 14 points, respectively for the Knights who also held a 47-35 edge in the rebounding department, including an overwhelming 23-7 advantage on the offensive glass.

Archambault paced Wagner with 16 points, including a fine 4-of-5 effort from three-point range while Thorpe had a 12-point, five-rebound effort . Fournier was next in scoring with nine while freshman point guard Jacqui Thompson (Southampton, PA/ St. Basil Academy) but it was a tough night for the Seahawks' leading scorer Clark. Coming into the game, the 6-3 center was averaging 14.4 points and 7.9 rebounds but on this night she was held to six points, on 1-of-2 shooting, and five boards.

With the win, FDU remained in the hunt for a berth in the upcoming NEC Tournament in improving to 8-8 in the league and 12-15 overall. The Seahawks, who fell to 2-25, 1-15 in the NEC, have now lost 20 straight games and will conclude the 2011-12 season with a two-game New England road trip. On Saturday, February 25, Wagner plays at Central Connecticut St. at 1:00 before the season finale takes place on Monday, February 27 at Bryant at 7:00 pm.

Prior to the game a Senior Night Ceremony was held in honor of Clark, Thorpe and guard Kanifa Hicks (Paterson, NJ/ Passaic Tech).