Box Score FINAL STATS

Brooklyn, NY – Sophomore forward Stephanie Blais (Sherbrooke, Quebec/ Montmorency) exploded for a career-high 24 points, play-making freshman guard Jordyn Peck (Shaker Heights, OH/ Shaker Heights) matched her career-high of 22 while sharp-shooting senior forward Marie-Laurence Archambault (Montreal, Quebec/ Montmorency) added 16 to lead Wagner to a gutsy 74-70 Northeast Conference (NEC) win over LIU Brooklyn.

The victory snaps a 12-game losing streak for the Seahawks as they move to 2-13 on the season, 1-3 in the NEC. In dropping their seventh straight, the Blackbirds fall to 3-12 overall, 0-4 in league play.

For the game, Wagner set season highs in points (74), field goal percentage (.473), field goals made (26), free throws made (15) and free throws attempted (23). In addition to these offensive superlatives, Wagner came up big on the defensive end. The Seahawk defense was particularly effective down the stretch when the the Gre en & Whiteheld LIU to one field goal in the final 4:47 of play  and two in the final 7:37. Overall, the Blackbirds shot just 38% (27-of-69) while Wagner's 47.3% shooting was a product of a 26-of-55 effort.

For the most part, this was a high-tempo, back-and-forth affair, one that featured 14 lead changes and nine ties. During the first 12 minutes of play, neither team was able to get more than four points of separation. With 9:55 left in the half, Blais drilled a three-pointer followed by a Peck layup off a feed from senior guard Veronick Fournier (Gatineau, Quebec) to give Wagner its biggest lead of the game at 25-17 with 8:57 left.

LIU Brooklyn then reversed course, going on a 12-0 run to seize a 29-25 lead at the 3:39 mark en route to a taking a 34-33 halftime lead.

The second half was a close, intense, nip-and-tuck 20-minute session as neither team led by more than six points after intermission. Wagner took its first lead of the second half on a Archambault three-pointer at 16:47 which put the Seahawks on top 40-38 with 16:47 to go. These points were the beginning of a 7-0 Wagner run which was capped by a Peck three-ball at 15:45 that gave Wagner its biggest lead of the half at 44-38.

A 9-4 Blackbird run, ending with a Sophie Bhasin jumper at 13:21 forged the game's sixth tie at 47-47. LIU Brooklyn would take its first lead since early in the half on a Genise Presley layup at 11:08 which put the Blackbirds on top, 52-51. Wagner trailed 63-59 after a Tamika Guz jumper at 4:48 with before responding with a pivotal 9-0 surge. Archambault scored  the first five on a three-pointer at 4:17, followed by a pair of free throws at 2:35 that put Wagner back into the lead for good at 64-63.

Blais then came up with a huge defensive sequence, swatting away a Fanny Cavallo layup attempt before gathering the rebound as well. Wagner worked the ball to the crafty Peck who shook free for a layup at 2:02 to make it 66-63.

With LIU Brooklyn trailing by that 66-63 margin with 1:21 left, Cavallo missed the front end of a crucial one-and-one opportunity. Down on the other end, Peck made the Blackbirds pay with a big 12-foot pull-up jumper to make it 68-63 with 1:03 to go. After Kelly Robinson sank two free throws nine seconds later, Peck found redshirt freshman forward Ebony Jennings (Monroe Township, NJ/ Monroe Township) with a gorgeous bounce pass, resulting in a Jennings layup and a 70-65 Seahawk lead with 37 seconds to go.

Krystal Wells made things interesting by hitting a long three-pointer to draw the Blackbirds to within 70-68 with 26 ticks left on the clock. Peck was fouled on the ensuing possession with 22 seconds to go and the lefty calmly sank both to make it a four-point game at 72-68. On the next trip down it was Archambault who came up with the big defensive stop, blocking a Well three-point try. Jennings, who appears to be gaining in confidence each time out, collected the rebound, was fouled with 12 seconds left and split her pair of free throws to make it 73-68, Wagner.

Robinson sank a pair of free throws with seven seconds left to make it a one possession game at  73-70. LIU Brooklyn immediately fouled Peck on the inbounds and multi-faceted guard made one out of two to make it a two-possession game and Archambault sealed with a steal with one tick left as the joyous Seahawks celebrated a hard-fought victory.

Blais' 24-point night came on 9-of-16 shooting from the field and a 5-of-7 effort from the line. The 6-2 Blais pulled down six boards while coming up with a pair of assists and steals. For Peck, it was her second straight 22-point outing as she hit that number on Saturday vs. St. Francis Brooklyn. While Peck had the hot hand from deep vs. the Terriers, going 5-of-6 from beyond the arc, tonight she was just 1-of-7 from deep. However, the crafty lefthander resourcefully and repeatedly beat her defender off the dribble with her lightning-quick first step, finishing 8-of-9 from two-point range and 8-of-16 overall.

Fournier's three-point outing belied her importance to the team as she hauled in a team-high seven rebounds to go with four assists, just one turnover, and two steals while playing the entire 40 minutes. In fact, the Seahawks, who again dressed just eight players due to injury, had two other players deliver route-going performances in Archambault and Peck.

Minus post players Chanez Robinson (Newark, NJ/ Shabazz/ Northeastern) and Ugo Nwaigwe (Valley Stream, NY/ Valley Stream), Wagner was beaten on the glass by a 44-31 margin. For the second straight game, the Seahawks were without sophomore point guard Jacqui Thompson (Southampton, PA)/ St. Basil Academy.

LIU Brooklyn was led by Guz who had 21 points, followed by Wells and Honor Duvall who added 17 and 10, respectively. 

The Seahawks now embark on a two-game New England swing, which takes them to Central Connecticut on Saturday, January 19 for a 1;00 pm tip followed by a 5:00 pm Martin Luther King Day matchup at Bryant.

NOTES - Tonight marked the third consecutive game that Wagner has set a season high in points. Against Monmouth (1/7), the Seahawks tallied a then season-est 64 points, which they topped lst time out vs. St. Francis Brooklyn (1/12), before topping that mark with this evening's 70-point outburst. Blais'  24-point, six-rebound, two-assist outing tonight came on the heels of Saturday's 14-point, 7-rebound, career-high six-assist effort vs. St. Francis Brooklyn on Saturday. In these last two games, Blais averaged 19.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists. Archambault, meanwhile, has now strung together five straight double-digit outings. The 6-0 Archambault had a season-high 20 vs. FDU (1/5), followed by 15 points each vs. Monmouth (1/7) and St. Francis (NY) (1/12), and tonight's 16-point game vs. LIU Brooklyn. Archambault and Blais are tied for the team lead in double-digit games with seven while Peck has scored 10 or more in a game six times. In the absence of the 6-3 Nwaigwe and the 6-2 Robinson, the 5-11 Jennings has shown productivity and consistency inside. Over the last four games, Jennings is averaging 4.3 rebounds with a career-high of seven vs. FDU (1/5).