Pictured Above: Sophomore guard Jordyn Peck, a member of the 2012-13 NEC All-Rookie Team, leads the Seahawks in scoring at 17.6 points per game. (Photo by Dave Saffran)

Game 8: Wagner (1-6) at Rutgers (6-2)
Thursday, Dec. 12 - 7:30 pm
The RAC, Piscataway, NJ

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Piscataway, NJ - The Wagner women's basketball team makes the short trek to Piscataway, NJ to meet the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers in a 7:30 pm tilt at the RAC.

How To View the Game
Live video will be available via RVision on scarletknights.com with Ed Cohen and Danny Breslauer on the call. Additionally, WRSU, the Rutgers student station at 88.7 FM, will be at the RAC to provide all the action.

About the Seahawks
One of the nation's youngest teams, Wagner started three freshmen, one senior and a sophomore vs. Pittsburgh last time out on Dec.. 7. Despite its youth, and against a demanding early-season schedule that has included four "power conference" teams, the 1-6 Seahawks have proven to be a dangerous club. Wagner is averaging 61.9 points per game, an average of 10.7 points  higher than the 51.2 the Green & White averaged last season. Included among the seven foes that Wagner has faced in the young season were No. 7 Kentucky of the SEC, Seton Hall of the Big East, the Atlantic 10's Rams, in addition to ACC member Pittsburgh.

Second-Year Head Coach Lisa Cermignano
A former assistant coach at Illinois and Vanderbilt, a Hall of Fame player at George Washington and the 1992-93 New Jersey Gatorade State Player of the Year, Lisa Cermignano was named head women's basketball coach at Wagner College in April, 2012. She enters her second season at Wagner in 2013-2014 armed with a roster of six returnees that she will blend with a talented six-person recruiting class. Under Cermignano's tutelage, 6-2 junior Stephanie Blais improved to10.3 points per game, second on the team, as a sophomore in 2013-2014 after contributing 3.6 points per game as a freshman.Last season also served as Jordyn Peck's introduction to NEC. The 5-6 left-handed dynamo earned a spot on the NEC All-Rookie Team after finishing third on the team at 10.2 points per game. while earning three Choice Hotel NEC Rookie of the Week honors. In hitting for double figures in 14 games, highlighted by seven consecutive double-digit scoring games between January 12 and February 2, she became the first Seahawk to earn a spot on the All-NEC Rookie Team since Carrie Walker in 2000-2001. In 2013-14, Cermignano is unveiling her much-anticipated first full recruiting class. In addition to spending three seasons at both Illinois and Vanderbilt, Cermignano's 15 years as a Division I coach include assistant coaching stops at George Washington, Monmouth and Maryland. In addition to helping lead George Washington to NCAA Tournament appearances all four years during her Hall of Fame playing career, Cermignano has been a part of the NCAA Tournament as a coach seven times. All told, she has been a member of 11 NCAA Tournament teams, including four Sweet 16's (two as a player, two as a coach) and one Elite Eight (as a player). Cermignano was born in Bryn Mawr, PA and raised in the Philadelphia suburb of Mantua Township, NJ. She was a prep star at Gloucester Catholic (NJ) where she scored 2,063 points in her high school career in setting the school's scoring record.

About the Rutgers Scarlet Knights
• Rutgers is under the direction of legendary head coach C. Vivian Stringer, one of the most recognizable names and faces in all of college basketball, who has has built an illustrious career highlighted by countless milestones, including her enshrinement into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.In 42 seasons on the sidelines, Stringer was the primary architect in transforming three programs into national title contenders. She has guided her teams to 25 of the 32 NCAA Tournaments, including 10-straight from 2003 to 2012.The first coach in men's or women's basketball history to take three different schools to the Final Four (Cheyney in 1982, Iowa in 1993 and Rutgers, in 2000 and again in 2007), Stringer has been a pioneer, visionary and leader during her four decades of success on the hardwood. During her career, Stringer has compiled an overall record of 907-334 (.731), and entered the season ranked fourth on the Division I women's victories list and second among active coaches.

• The Scarlet Knights enter the contest at 6-2 overall after topping Davidson, 66-35. The Scarlet Knights used a 15-0 run to begin the second half to cruise to a 31-point victory - tied for the team's largest margin of victory this season.

• Junior Betnijah Laney was named to the American Athletic Conference Honor Roll for the second time this season following her double-double performance last week at Davidson. She tied her season-high with 15 points and added in 11 boards.  Her 9.8 rebounds per game are good for third in the league.

• Sophomore forward Kahleah Copper leads the Scarlet Knights and is fifth in the American Athletic Conference in scoring at 16.1 points per game.  She is also seventh in the league in rebounding at 7.6 boards per game.

• Sophomore Rachel Hollivay enters the matchup third in the nation in blocks per game (4.1). That figure is good for tops in the American.

Wagner All-Time Series with Rutgers (Scarlet Knights lead 3-0)
December 28, 1977:    Rutgers 73, WAGNER 43          Staten Island, NY (Wagner Christmas Tournament)     
December 12, 1984:    RUTGERS 81, Wagner 56         Piscataway, NJ
November 30, 2002:    RUTGERS 70, Wagner 41         Piscataway, NJ
 
Nwajei NEC Freshman of the Week
Wagner freshman point guard Jasmine Nwajei (Rockaway Park, NY/Murry Bertraum), who matched her season average with 13 points vs. Pittsburgh on Saturday in the Seahawks' lone game last week, was named the Northeast Conference (NEC) Rookie of the Week the league office announced on Dec. 9. The 5-8 Nwajei continues to produce each time out for the Seahawks and in last Saturday's 69-55 loss to ACC member Pittsburgh, she helped Wagner remain within striking distance for much of the game. On the floor for 39 minutes, she also matched her career high with six assists while coming up with a career-high six steals. Eleven of her 13 points came in the second half as Wagner trailed by only four points with just over 5:00 remaining. Overall, Nwajei is eighth in the NEC in scoring at 13.6 points per contest and has scored in double digits during in six of her first seven collegiate games. Her season high (20 points) came in a road win over MAAC member Monmouth on November 14.  Her 3.7 assists per game rank sixth in the NEC.

Peck Leads the Way
Sophomore guard Jordyn Peck (Shaker Heights, OH/Shaker Heights ), the NEC's sixth-leading scorer at 17.6 ppg., drained 5-of-10 three-point attempts to key a 17-point outing vs. Pittsburgh while adding three rebounds and a steal. The the 5-6 lefthander is now shooting .479 from beyond the arc on the season, having hit 23-of-48 from deep.

Ugo Nwaigwe Continues to Produce
Redshirt sophomore center Ugo Nwaigwe (Valley Stream, NY/Valley Stream South) delivered her usual hard-working effort in the low post. Matched up against Pitt's 6-11 redshirt freshman center Marvadebe Anderson much of the game, the 6-3 Nwaigwe equaled her career high with 11 rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass, while adding five points, two blocks and one steal.
 
Developing Depth
Coming off a career game with 14 points and six rebounds vs. VCU on Dec. 1, 6-1 forward Taylor Butigian (Rockaway Park, NY/Christ the King) gained the first starting assignment of her young career vs. Pittsburgh and finished with six points while equaling her career high of six rebounds in a 16-minute stint. Yet another freshman, forward Jackie Dluhi Middletown, NJ/Middletown South), made her presence felt, accounting for three points, which came on her first career three-pointer, to go with four rebounds. The 22 minutes logged by the 5-11 Dluhi mark the second-longest stint of her career, topped only by her 29-minute outing in Wagner's 80-67 win at Monmouth on Nov. 14. Wagner is also receiving important contributions from senior captain Laura Amorosa (Kirkland, Quebec/Phillips Academy), freshman guards Lyndsay Rowe (South River, NJ/St. John Vianney), and Maria Conyers-Jordan (Philadelphia, PA/Friends' Central), redshirt-freshman guard Jazmine Hamlet (Queens, NY/Francis Lewis), and sophomore guard Tessa Wade (Penn Valley, PA/Lower Merion). Senior forward Stephanie Blais (Sherbrook, Quebec/Montmorency) is a battle-tested veteran who has sat out the last two games with a foot injury.