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Post-Game Interview with Jasmine Nwajei (Conducted by Wagner play-by-play announcer Mike Ventola)

Jasmine Nwajei Delivers a Mid-Second Half Behind-the-Back Pass to Jordyn Peck who Hits the Layup in Transition (Video)

Jordyn Peck Nails Clutch, Step-Back Three-Point Dagger  With 1:17 Left to Give Wagner an Eight-Point Lead (Video)

Staten Island –  Freshman point guard Jasmine Nwajei (Rockaway Park, NY/Murry Bergtraum) recorded career highs with 28 points and nine assists,  while sophomore guard Jordyn Peck (Shaker Heights, OH/Shaker Heights) added 21 points as Wagner shot a season-high 56 percent from the floor in running past Sacred Heart 79-70 at the Spiro Sports Center.

In posting the win over a Pioneer team that entered the game with a 3-0 Northeast Conference (NEC) record, the Seahawks evened their league mark at 2-2. With a starting lineup that did not include a single junior or senior, Wagner survived a wild, high-paced slugfest that featured 14 lead changes and 10 ties.
 
Redshirt freshman guard Jazmine Hamlet (Manhattan, NY/ Francis Lewis) contributed nine points, one shy of her career-high, to go with three assists and three rebounds while  redshirt sophomore Ugo Ngwaige (Valley Stream, NY/ Valley Stream  South) patrolled the paint, tallying eight point and pulling down eight rebounds. The 6-3 center, who entered the game ranked 15^th in the nation and No. 1 in the NEC with 3.15 blocks per game, added four more on the evening to boost her season total to 46.
 
Entering the game, Nwajei's previous career high was 20. By halftime tonight, she had already dropped in 18 points, fashioning a stat line that included 9-of-13 shooting, four assists, four steals, three rebounds and one blocked shot.
 
The second half was a nip-and-tuck, back and forth affair with neither team able to separate itself by more than five points until Wagner broke open a 53-53 ties with  17-8 flourish over s span of 6:06 . Nwajei scored seven points during the run, including a key three-point jumper at the 6:04 mark that put the Seahawks in front 70-61. After the Pioneers rattled off five straight points to cut it to 70-66, Nwajei  hit a driving layup at the 2:37 mark to make it a two-possession game at 72-66.
 
Adaysha Williams then made one of two from the line at 2:12 to make it 72-67. On its next possession, the Seahawks methodically worked the ball around the perimeter. With the shot clock winding down, Nwajei misfired on a three-pointer but hustling freshman forward Taylor Butigian (Rockaway Park, NY/Christ the King) swooped across the paint to snare the offensive rebound, smartly kicking the ball out top so that the Seahawks could burn ever more time off of the clock.

Wagner, with a fresh 30 seconds to work with, again patiently worked the ball around the perimeter. With the shot clock under 10 seconds, Nwajei kicked the ball to Peck to the left of the circle. With four seconds left to shoot, the left-hander confidently sank a step-back three-pointer from just to the left of the circle, with this dagger pushing the lead to 75-67 with just 1:12 left to play.
 
Katie Shephard then made things interesting by nailing a three-pointer with 56 seconds left to make  it a 75-70 game. Peck was fouled on the ensuing possession with 54 seconds left and sank the front end of the one-and-one before Wagner was whistled for a lane violation which negated her second made free throw, giving Sacred Heart the ball in a two-possession game down just 76-70.
 
But on the Pioneers' next trip down the court, hard-nosed freshman guard Lyndsay Rowe (South River, NJ/St. John Vianney) came up with a huge defensive play, blocking Gabrielle Washington's jumper in the lane with 40 seconds remaining. Nwajei came down with the rebound, was fouled, and made one of two from the line to make it a three-possession game at 77-70 with 37 ticks left. Rowe then came up with another stellar defensive play, blocking a Shephard three-point try with 16 seconds to go. Peck was then fouled and sank two from the line to fashion the final score at 79-70.
 
In addition to shooting a season-best 56%, Wagner notched season highs in most points scored (79), field goals made (32), assists (17) and blocked shots (12). In addition, the Seahawks also committed a season-low 17 fouls.
 
Wagner did a fine defensive job all evening on Washington. Entering the game fourth in the NEC in scoring at 18.2 points per game, Washington was held to 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting. Shephard led the way for Sacred Heart with 15 to go with a team-high six assists. Williams added 12 points for the Pioneers while Johanna Lopez and Hannah Kimmel added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
 
The Seahawks displayed their inside toughness, outscoring Sacred Heart 44-30 in the paint while holding a slight 34-33 rebounding advantage. Wagner led in points off turnovers, 13-3, and in fast break points, 20-10. No fast break was prettier than the one executed midway through the second half that was highlighted by a behind-the-back pass from Nwajei to a streaking Peck, a play that brought the Seahawks faithful to their collective feet.
 
The Seahawks now take to the road for four straight games. On Saturday, January 18, Wagner travels to Mount St. Mary's to meet the Mountaineers in a 4:30 pm contest before heading to Robert Morris to face the Colonials in a Martin Luther King Day matinee on Monday, January 20 at 2:00 pm. The following week features another pair of road tilts as the Seahawks square off with these same Sacred Heart Pioneers in a 2:00 pm tip on Saturday, January 27, before concluding the four-game road stretch at St. Francis Brooklyn on Monday, January 27 at 7:00 pm.
 
The Green & White do not return to the friendly confines of the Spiro Center again for nearly three weeks when Wagner hosts Saint Francis U on Saturday, February 1 at 1:00 pm.

NOTES -
 
Peck, Nwajei Lighting it Up
This young, dynamic backcourt combination is sure to give opposing coaches headaches in the enusing years. Overall, Peck is the NEC's third-leading scorer at 18.8 points per game while Nwajei's season average is up to 13.7. In Wagner's four NEC games, Peck is hitting for a staggering 25.0 average while Nwajei, who has played in three NEC games, is hitting for 22.0 points per game.

Most Points Scored in Five Seasons
The 79 points scored by Wagner vs. Sacred Heart are the most by the Seahawks in five seasons. The last time the Green & White scored 79 points or more in a game was back on November 18, 2008 when the Seahawks posted an 82-73 home win over NJIT.
 
Most Points Scored in an NEC Game In a Decade
To find the last time Wagner scored 79 points in an NEC game, one has to go all the way back to January 24, 2003 when the Seahawks posted a 79-66 home win over St. Francis (NY).
 
Over 70 For Fifth Time
Wagner's 79-point output vs. Sacred Heart marks the fifth time this season that the Seahawks have annexed the 70-point plateau. In 29 games last season, Wagner topped the 70-point mark on one occasion, that coming in a 74-70 win at LIU Brooklyn on January 14, 2013.
 
Margin of Victory
The nine-point win represents Wagner's largest margin of victory since November 14, 2012 when the Seahawks posted a 14-point (61-47) win at Columbia. The margin of victory is Wagner's largest in an NEC game since February 12, 2011 when the Seahawks earned a 10-point (74-64) win over Mount St. Mary's.
 
Seahawks Tie Last Season's Win Total
In notching their third win of the season, Wagner tied its win total from a year ago when the Seahawks went 3-26.