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Emmitsburg, MD –  Point guard Jasmine Nwajei (Rockaway Park, NY/Murry Bergtraum), the reigning Northeast Conference (NEC) Rookie of the Week and the league's leading freshman scorer, tossed in a game-high 25 points and sophomore shooting guard Jordyn Peck (Shaker Heights, OH/Shaker Heights) added 23 but it was not enough as Mount St. Mary's broke open a close game with a late burst in pulling away for an 89-78 win.
 
Redshirt sophomore Ugo Nwaigwe (Valley Stream, NY/Valley Stream South) recorded career highs with 12 points and 12 rebounds as the 6-3 center notched her second double-double of the season. Redshirt freshman guard Jazmine Hamlet (Manhattan, NY/ Fort Lewis) was the fourth Seahawk in double figures, equaling her career high with 10 points.
 
After reaching the 79-point plateau for the first time since 2003 last time out in their 79-70 win over Sacred Heart on January 13, the Seahawks nearly matched that mark with 78 points vs. the Mountaineers. Today's output marks the sixth time this season that Wagner has scored 70 or more points in a game. Last season, in 29 contests, the Seahawks hit for 70 or more on just one occasion.
 
Jacqueline Brewer and Sydney Henderson led the Mount in scoring with 23 and 21 points, respectively, while Kayla Grossett added 20 for the Mountaineers in an entertaining contest that featured nine ties and 18 lead changes.
 
With the loss, the Seahawks fall to 2-3 in the NEC and 3-13 overall while the Mount moves to 3-2 in league play and now sports an overall record of 8-9.
 
Trailing 47-38 at halftime, the Seahawks opened the second half with an 11-2 run to tie the game at 49-49 with 15:39 to play. Nwajei had six points in the Seahawk burst while Peck tallied the other five.
 
Wagner took its final lead of the game on a driving layup by Nwajei at the 13:33 mark that put the Seahawks on top 55-54. The Mount took the lead for good on the ensuing possession on a Rachel Matthews layup at 13:14 off of a Jenn Carney assist. This layup by Matthews triggered a 10-0 Mountaineer run that opened a 64-55 edge, a run that was capped by two Brewer free throws with 10:01 remaining.

A Nwajei layup followed by a free throw by senior forward Laura Amorosa (Kirkland, Quebec/Phillips Academy), which came at 9:18, made it a two-possession game at 64-58. The Mount countered with a 7-2 spurt to make it a 71-60 lead with 6:55 to play and the Green & White would get no closer than eight points the rest of the way. 

The first half was a furiously-paced, back-and-forth affair that featured six ties and 14 lead changes. The final tie of the half came at 32-32 following a Nwaigwe layup off a pretty feed by Nwajei. The Mount then went on an 8-3 run to seize a 40-35 lead following a Brewer three-pointer at the 3:12 mark. Nwajei then picked up her second foul at the 2:51 mark. With Wagner's dynamic point guard on the bench, the Mount closed the half with a 7-3 run to go up 47-38 at intermission.
 
The Mountaineers' shot a blistering 15-of-24 (63%) from the field in the opening half while the Seahawks were a solid 48% shooting (14-of-29). The Mount hit 7-of-9 from beyond the arc (78%) in the first half while the Seahawks were 4-of-13 (31%). Nwajei matched her season average with a team-leading 13 points in the opening half while Peck and Hamlet (Manhattan, NY/ Francis Lewis) added nine and seven points, respectively.
 
For the Mount, Brewer led the way with 14 in the first half while Henderson added 13. Wagner held a 16-14 rebounding edge and by an 18-12 count on points in the paint.
 
The Seahawks continue on to the Steel City from here when they meet Robert Morris on Monday, January 20 in a 2:00 pm Martin Luther King Day matinee.

NOTES

Peck, Nwajei Lighting it Up
This young, dynamic backcourt combination is sure to give opposing coaches headaches during the rest of the 2013-14 season and beyond. Overall, Sophomore Jordyn Peck is the NEC's second-leading scorer at 19.1 points per game while Nwajei's season average is up to 14.1, tops among all NEC freshmen. In Wagner's five NEC games, Freshman Jasmine Nwajei is hitting for a staggering 24.6 average while Nwajei, who has played in four NEC games, is hitting for 22.8 points per NEC outing.

Most Points Scored in Five Seasons vs. Sacred Heart on Jan. 13
The 79 points scored by Wagner vs. Sacred Heart (1/13) 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. The Seahawks followed that effort by tallying 78 points at Mount St. Mary's (1/18).

Peck In NEC Play
While playing 195 out of a possible 200 minutes In Wagner's five NEC, Jordyn Peck is averaging 24.6 points on 43.7 percent shooting (38-of-87), 39.0 (16-of-41) percent from beyond the arc, and 4.2 rebounds while dishing out 8 assists and committing just 6 turnovers.
 
Peck Cracks Wagner Top 10 In 3-Pointers Made
In less than two seasons as a Seahawks (45 games), Jordyn Peck has already ascended into the Wagner all-time top 10 in career three-pointers made. The 2012-2013 All-NEC Rookie Team performer has drained 83 career treys, which places her in 10th-place all-time, seven behind Kim McGhee (1999-2003) who made 88 three-pointers. In addition, Peck has already surpassed the total of three-pointers that she made all of last season. Peck has hit 43-of-114 (.377) treys this season. As a freshman a year ago. Peck hit 40-of-140 (.286) from three-point range. For her career, Peck has now scored 600 points even entering the Robert Morris game (1/20).

Peck Now Second in NEC Scoring
Following her 23-point performance at Mount St. Mary's, Jordyn Peck has is now in second place on the NEC scoring list at 19.1 points per game.

Ugo Up to 8th in Career Blocks
Redshirt sophomore Ugo Nwaigwe (Valley Stream, NY/Valley Stream), who entered the January 18 Mount St. Mary's game ranked 11th nationally and No. 1 in the NEC at 3.07 blocks per game, added two more swats vs. the Mountaineers. This outing brought her career total to 64, which places her eighth on the Wagner all-time list, five behind Rachel Carman (1990-1994) who had 69 career blocks.

Ugo Finding Consistency
Redshirt sophomore center Ugo Nwaigwe (Valley Stream, NY/Valley Stream South) is starting to together consistent performances while providing Wagner with a true post presence on both ends of the floor. The 6-3 Nwaigwe, who entered the Jan. 18 Mount St. Mary's game ranked No. 11 nationally and No. 1 in the NEC with 3.07 blocks per game, has averaged 9.6 points and 7.4 rebounds in Wagner's five NEC games and has hit 20-of-28 shots a blistering 71.4 percent average. For the season, she is averaging 9.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.

Margin of Victory vs. Sacred Heart
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.

Most Points Scored in an NEC Game In a Decade
To find the last time Wagner scored 79 points in an NEC game, prior to the Sacred Heart game (1/13), 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).
 
Sixth Time Over 70
Wagner's 78-point output at the Mount (1/18) marks the sixth 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.