Box Score FINAL STATS

Staten Island, NY – The Wagner women's basketball team played some of its best basketball of the season in building a 12-point first-half lead over Fairleigh Dickinson (FDU) before the Knights used a 12-0 run to open the second half en route to posting a 68-59 win in the Northeast Conference (NEC) opener for both teams.

FDU guard Danielle Pankey poured in a game-high 28 points, while grabbing 10 rebounds and coming up with six steals. Pankey was 8-of-18 from the field and 11-of-17 from the charity stripe. Also recording a double-double for the Knights was center Erika Livermoore supplied 15 points while pulling down 17 rebounds.

Wagner received a sterling all-around effort from senior forward Marie-Laurence Archambault (Montreal, Quebec/ Montmorency) who scored a team-high 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting, including a perfect 4-of-4 outing from three-point range. The versatile 6-0 Archambault also pulled down a career-high eight rebounds while adding two assists and two steals on the afternoon. The Seahawks also received a boost from freshman guard Jordyn Peck (Shaker Heights, OH/ Shaker Heights) who registered career highs with 19 points and eight rebounds in an efficient 26-minute performance. The crafty, left-handed Peck was 6-of-12 shooting from the floor, including a 4-of-7 effort from beyond the arc.

With the loss, the Seahawks fall to 1-11 on the season, 0-1 in the NEC while the Knights even their mark at 6-6 on the season and 1-0 in league play. Wagner has lost 10 straight.

The Seahawks played perhaps their finest half of the season in the opening 20 minutes in building a 33-25 edge at intermission. Archambault got things going early with a jumper 20 seconds into the game as Wagner took an early 2-0 lead, a lead they would hold until early in the second half. A jumper by sophomore Stephanie Blais (Sherbrooke, Quebec/ Montmorency) gave the Seahawks a 10-4 edge.

After the Knights ran off three straight points to make it 10-7, the Green & White reeled off seven consecutive points, the first five of which came on a Peck three-pointer followed by a Peck breakaway layup. The latter, off one of sophomore guard Jacqui Thompson's (Southampton, PA/ St. Basil Academy) seven first-half assists, gave the Seahawks a 15-7 lead, resulting in an FDU timeout at 12:20.

A jump shot by junior forward Laura Amorosa (Kirland, Quebec/ Phillips Academy) lifted the Seahawks to a 21-10 with 6:34 to go in the half.  Following a Pankey jumper, Peck answered with a long three-pointer at 5:50 to give Wagner its biggest lead of the game at 24-12. Following a 5-0 FDU burst, Wagner responded with an Archambault three-ball to push the back to double-digits at 27-17 with 2:47 left in the half. Consecutive layups by Amorosa and Archambault gave Wagner a 33-22 with 53 seconds to go. That's the way things stood until Miah Register came up with a steal in the open floor near midcourt with four seconds to go, took a couple hard dribbles and delivered a three-pointer from the top of the key at the buzzer to knife the FDU deficit to 33-25.

Buoyed by the big Register turnover and trey, the Knights came out flying in the second half, going on a 12-0 run over the half's first 4:33 to build a 37-33 lead.. A Stephanie Isaacs three-pointer at 17:24 gave FDU its first lead of the game at 34-33. The Knights would go on to lead the rest of the way.

The 12 unanswered points were capped by a Pankey free throw at 15:48 that made it 37-34. Counting the first-half ending three-pointer by Register, it was actually a 15-0 FDU run bridging the first and second halves. Wagner finally got on the board at 15:27 of the second half on a pair of Amorosa free throws. Amorosa's three-pointer at 14:50 made it a one-point game at 39-38. But this is as close as Wagner would get, as FDU went on a 13-4 run to open a 52-42 lead midway through the second half.

The Seahawks did not go quietly, however summoning a 7-1 run to make it a 53-49 game, capped by a pair of Archambault free throws at the 5:50 mark. Trailing 61-56 at the 2:00 mark, Peck shook loose for a three to make it a three-point game at 61-58 with 1:54 left. But the Knights were solid from the free throw line down the stretch, making five of their final six free throws in sealing the 68-59 win.

NOTES – Wagner's gallant effort this afternoon is even more impressive in light of the fact that the Seahawks' dressed just eight players. Among the unavailable players were a pair of centers in senior Chanez Robinson (Newark, NJ/ Shabazz/ Northeastern) and sophomore Ugo Nwaigwe (Valley Stream, NY/ Valley Stream). Archambault's 20-point outing marked the fifth time she has hit for 20 or more in her career. The last 20-point game she recorded was on January 29, 2011 when she had 22 at Central Connecticut. Her career high of 24 came during her freshman season on January 9, 2010 at Quinnipiac. Archambault has now led the Seahawks in scoring in six of 12 games and is averaging a team-best 9.4 points per game. Entering the season, Archambault had scored 794 career points. Her 20-point outing vs. the Knights allowed her to eclipse the 900-point plateau as she has now totaled 907 career points. Peck has now scored in double figures four of her first 12 career games.  Prior to her 19-point output today, Peck's previous career high was 15 at Louisville (12/21). Peck is third on the team in scoring behind Archambault and Blais (9.3 ppg.) at 7.8 points per outing. Thompson matched her season high with seven assists, all of which came in the first half. Her career high is nine, at NJIT  (11/19/11). The 33 points scored by Wagner were the most by the Seahawks in a first half this season. The most points tallied in a half by Wagner this season is 34 points, which the Seahawks totaled in the second halves vs. Columbia (11/14) and Iona (12/1). The 59 points scored by the Green & White marked the fourth-highest output of the season for the Seahawks, bettered by the 64 vs. Iona (12/1), 62 vs. Army (11/9). The 14 assists handed out by Wagner vs. FDU were the highest-of the season, bettered only by the 16 vs. Army (11/9) and 15 vs. Iona (12/1). The 10 steals recorded by the Seahawks rank third on the season (12 at Syracuse, 12/4), 11 vs. Iona (12/1).

Wagner is next in action on Monday, January 7 when the Green & White host another NEC rival from the Garden State in the Hawks of Monmouth who invade the Spiro Sports Center at 7:00 pm.