Above: Senior co-captain Laura Amorosa seen in action earlier this season vs. Vermont (Photo by Dave Saffran)


Game 14: Central Connecticut (6-6, 0-2 NEC) at Wagner (2-11, 1-1 NEC)
Saturday,  Jan. 11- 1:00 pm
Spiro Sports Center– Staten Island, NY

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1988-89 Team to be Honored at Halftime on 25th Anniversary of NEC Title

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Staten Island, NY - The Wagner women's basketball team is looking to make it a 2-1 start in the Northeast Conference (NEC) when the Seahawks host Central Connecticut in a 1:00 pm tip-off at the Spiro Sports Center in the first game of a double-header with the Seahawk men's team set to host LIU Brooklyn in the nightcap at 4:00 pm.
 
After posting an impressive 71-65 comeback victory over LIU Brooklyn in its NEC opener on January 4, the Seahawks were on the short end of an 80-63 home decision vs. Bryant on January 6. The Seahawks enter the game with the Blue Devils with a 2-11 overall record and a 1-1 mark in the NEC while Central Connecticut is 6-6 on the season and, at 0-2, in search of its first league win.

Central Connecticut, picked fifth in the 10-team NEC Preseason Poll, features one of the NEC's top talents in 5-5 senior guard Jessica Babe who is the team leader in scoring (13.2), rebounding (6.0) and assists (5.0) per game. Lauren Arbogast, a talented 6-2 forward, checks in at 11.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game while 5-9 junior guard Kaley Watras and 6-3 sophomore post Amanda Harrington average 9.1 and 8.7 points per game. Harrington is also second on the team with 5.6 boards per game.
 
The Blue Devils dropped a pair of hard-fought home games last week. On January 4, Central Connecticut was edged by Robert Morris 61-59. Two nights later, the Devils hooked up with Saint Francis U in a wild, offensive-minded affair that would up with the Red Flash coming away with a 106-97 overtime victory.

At halftime of the Wagner-Central Connecticut contest, the 1988-1989 team, Wagner's first Northeast Conference (NEC) title squad in any sport, will be honored on the 25th anniversary of their magical 22-7 season, that included a 14-2 league mark and featured a season-ending 12-game winning streak.
 
"It will be a true honor for our players to have the opportunity to meet and interact with this group of women who made such a lasting mark here at Wagner College," said Seahawk Head Coach Lisa Cermignano. "I've had the good fortune of meeting many of the 1988-89 team members and can honestly say that they are championship people as well. I'm looking forward to meeting more of them tomorrow on their special day."
 
Against Bryant on Monday, sophomore guard Jordyn Peck (Shaker Heights, OH/Shaker Heights) poured in a career-high 29 points on 10-of-22 shooting and has has now annexed the 20-point plateau seven times this season and for the 10th time in her career. Her previous career high was a 27-point outing vs. Vermont on November 27. Peck ranks fourth in the NEC at 17.8 points per game.

Redshirt sophomore Ugo Nwaigwe (Valley Stream, NY/Valley Stream South) had another effective and efficient night in the low post vs. the Bulldogs with 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting, to go with six rebounds and six blocked shots, both of which were team highs. For the season, the 6-3 Nwaigwe ranks 10th in the nation in blocks 3.15 per game, which also leads the NEC, while adding 5.9 points and a team-best 6.7 rebounds per game.
 
Freshman guard Lyndsay Rowe (South River, NJ/St. John Vianney) has been a consistent presence on the floor all season for Wagner. The 5-8, lefty-shooting Rowe is third on the team at 8.3 points per game and is shooting 36% (32-of-89) from three-point range and leads the Seahawks in minutes played at 34.8 per game, a shade higher than Peck's 34.7 average. In addition, Rowe is the only Wagner player who has started in all 13 games this season.

Wagner outshot Bryant by a healthy 43%-33% margin but the Bulldogs held an overwhelming edge at the free throw line. On the evening, Bryant made 38-of46 free throws, a sparkling 83%, while the Seahawks went to the line just 18 times, making 13, which computes to a 72% clip.

Trailing 47-36 with 15:40 left in the game, Wagner showed a healthy dose of grit over the next 3:20, outscoring Bryant 11-5 in drawing to within five points at 52-47 following a pair of Peck free throws at the 12:20 mark. But this would be as close as Wagner would get as the Bulldogs countered with a 13-3 run and never looked back.

Against the Bulldogs, the Seahawks were without the services of freshman point guard Jasmine Nwajei (Rockaway Park, NY/Murry Bergtraum), due to a death in the family, while freshman win Maria Conyers-Jordan (Philadelphia, PA/Friends' Central) missed her second straight contest with a leg injury. In addition, senior forward Stephanie Blais (Sherbrooke, Quebec/Montmorency), who was coming off a season-high 11-point afternoon in the win over LIU Brooklyn, suffered an ankle injury during the second half vs. Bryant.
 
The multi-skilled, 5-8 Nwajei, the team's second-leading scorer at 12.3, and team-leader in assists with 3.4 helper per game, is expected to be back in the lineup on Saturday while Blais and Conyers-Jordan are both out.