Box Score FINAL STATS

Smithfield, RI – Freshman guard Jordyn Peck (Shaker Heights, OH/ Shaker Heights) tossed in 16 points and redshirt freshman forward Ebony Jennings tallied a career-high 10 points while matching her career high with seven rebounds, but it was not enough as Bryant raced to a 22-point halftime lead en route to a 65-47 Northeast Conference (NEC) victory at the Chace Center.

Bryant was led by inside force Naana-Ankoma-Mensa who scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in registering her fourth consecutive double-double and 10^th of the season. Jennique Bailey knocked down 15 points to go with four assists for the Bulldogs while freshman Tiersa Winder added 13 points and six rebounds.

The Seahawks were hurt by two early fouls on sophomore forward Stephanie Blais (Sherbrooke, Quebec/ Montmorency), who had a career-high 24 points a week ago at LIU Brooklyn (1/14) and came into the game  third on the team in scoring at 10.1 points per game. The 6-2 Blais picked up her first foul at the 15:24 mark of the opening half before being whistled for her second personal at the 12:16 mark.

Bryant led14-6 at this point and after the teams traded baskets to make it 16-8, Peck hit a layup with 11:15 to go in the half to draw Wagner to within six at 16-10. The Seahawks, who again dressed just eight players and with Blais on the bench with two fouls, saw the Bulldogs go on a 20-4 blitz over the final 8:45 of the half in seizing a 36-14 halftime lead. Wagner shot just 24% (6-of-25) from the field in the opening stanza including a 0-of-12 effort from three-point range. For the game, Wagner was just 2-of-21 from beyond the arc.

Bryant outscored Wagner 8-4 in the first 3:02 of the second half in building a 26-point lead on a Ankoma-Mensa jumper with 16:58 left that put the Bulldogs on top 44-18.

The Seahawks battled back with a 12-0 run over a span of 8:27 to make it a 14-point game at 44-30 with eight minutes left. But this is as close as the Seahawks would get as the Bulldogs responded with a 10-4 burst to push the lead back to 20 at 54-34 with four minutes left.

The 5-11 Jennings scored all 10 of her points in the second half while Blais chipped in with eight points, three rebounds, two assists and a steals, a productive night especially considering she played just 15 minutes due to foul trouble. Sophomore point guard Jacqui Thompson (Southampton, PA/ St. Basil Academy) chimed in with team highs in steals and assists with four and three, respectively. Senior guard Veronick Fournier (Gatineau, Quebec/ Montmorency) added four points while tying Jennings for team-high honors with seven rebounds.

Bryant held a 49% to 31% edge from the field while out-rebounding the Seahawks 37-33. Both teams committed 24 turnovers.

In notching its first NEC win of the season, Bryant improves to 5-12 overall, 1-5 in league play while the Seahawks fall to 2-15 on the season and are also 1-5 in conference action.

The loss to Bryant completes a two-game New England swing for Wagner that began with a 83-54 loss at Central Connecticut on Saturday. With spring semester classes set to commence on Tuesday, the Green & White will take to the road again to meet Saint Francis U in Loretto, PA on Saturday, January 26 at 1:00 pm before continuing on to Emmitsburg, MD to face Mount St. Mary's on Monday, January 28.

Wagner does not take the court at the Spiro Sports Center until Saturday, February 2 when the Seahawks play host to Quinnipiac in a 1:00 pm tilt.