Game 20: Saint Francis U (7-12, 5-3 NEC) at Wagner (4-15, 3-5 NEC)
Saturday, Feb. 1 - 1:00 pm
Spiro Sports Center

Live Stats / Free Live Video

Game Notes
 
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Staten Island, NY - The Wagner women's basketball team returns to the friendly confines of the Spiro Sports Center for the first time in 17 days, while ushering in the month of February, in search of its second straight win when the Seahawks host Northeast Conference (NEC) rival Saint Francis U in a 1:00 pm tip-off on Saturday.
 
The 2013-2014 Seahawks are one of the nation's youngest teams with nine of the 11 players being in either their first or second seasons of eligibility. The Wagner roster is comprised of five true freshmen, one redshirt freshman, two true sophomores, one redshirt sophomore, zero juniors, and two seniors.
 
The Seahawks enter play with a 3-5 record in NEC play and 4-15 overall while the Red Flash is 5-3 in the NEC and have a 7-12 overall mark on the season.
 
Wagner is fresh off an impressive 73-62 victory at St. Francis Brooklyn, a win that marked the first blemish for the Terriers at home as they entered the fray with a 7-0 record at the Pope Center. Freshman point guard Jasmine Nwajei (Rockaway Park, NY/Murry Bergtraum) exploded for 25 of her game-high 27 points in the second half and sophomore guard Jordyn Peck (Shaker Heights, OH/Shaker Heights) added 19 to carry Wagner to the gritty victory over St. Francis Brooklyn.
 
The Red Flash is sit atop of the NEC in scoring offense, averaging 81.4 points per game. The next closest league foe is Bryant (72.2 ppg). SFU features the NEC's leading scorer in 6-0 senior forward Alli Williams, who averages 23.4 points per game overall and 25.4 per outing in NEC games. With her 14 rebounds in Monday's 84-76 win at LIU Brooklyn, Williams became just the third player in Saint Francis history to reach the 1,000 rebound plateau. I
 
In helping the Red Flash to win wins at FDU on Jan. 25 (110-69) and LIU Brooklyn, Williams was named the NEC Player of the Week. The senior put up 26 points and 17 rebounds against FDU and 22 points and 14 rebounds against LIU. With Williams' NEC Player of the Week honor the senior now has compiled 14 during her SFU career.
 
Monday night's win over St. Francis Brooklyn capped a stretch of four consecutive away games for the Green & White. Despite playing a competitive brand of basketball, the Seahawks dropped the first three legs of the road swing, falling to Mount St. Mary's 89-78 on Jan. 18, to Robert Morris on Jan. 20 by a 74-63 count before dropping their third straight, by a 63-46 margin at Sacred Heart on Jan. 25.
 
This matchup between the Seahawks and the Red Flash marks the 59th all-time meeting between the schools and the Loretto, PA-based school owns a 38-20 lead in the series. Last season, the Red Flash posted an 80-43 home win in the lone meeting between the schools. These two teams will hook up again the regular season finale on Loretto on March 1.
 
Against St. Francis Brooklyn, Nwajei picked up her second personal foul seven minutes into the game and did not return the rest of the half. In the second half, she took over, knocking down 9-of-15 shots, including a pair of three-pointers, and went 7-of-9 from the free throw line, including a host of crucial ones down the stretch, to key the Wagner win.
 
The three-time NEC Rookie of the Week added seven rebounds and five assists on the evening. A Nwajei jumper in the lane at 7:48 gave Wagner the lead for good at 49-48. With 4:23 left, she banked in a three-point jumper, with the shot clock winding down, that staked Wagner to the game's biggest lead of 57-48. The 5-8 Nwajei sank another big three with 3:05 left to again grow the lead to nine at 61-52. SFC never got closer than six points the rest of the way as the Seahawks converted seven of their final eight free throws down the stretch, with Nwajei going 4-of-4, in sealing the 11-point victory.
 
The NEC's leading freshman score by a wide margin, the 5-8 New York City guard now averages a whopping 20.7 points in conference play and 15.4 points overall. The 27 points tallied vs. the Terriers is one shy of the career-high 28-point performance Nwajei delivered in a 79-70 win over Sacred Heart (1/13).
 
Nwajei and sophomore backcourt mate Jordyn Peck (Shaker Heights, OH/Shaker Heights) are both averaging 21.6 points per game in NEC play. Nwajei is also grabbing 7.0 rebounds and distributing 5.9 assists per NEC outing while Peck is shooting .382 (21-of-55) from three-point range and .906 from the free throw line in league games. Peck has topped the 20-point mark 11 times already this season while Nwajei has scored 20 or more in six games. The two have managed 20-point games together on five occasions and the Seahawks are 3-2 in these contests.
 
Redshirt sophomore center Ugo Nwaigwe (Valley Stream, NY/Valley Stream South) is developing into one of the NEC's top post players. In eight NEC games, the 6-3 Nwaigwe is averaging 8.5 points and 9.0 rebounds while shooting a healthy 61.4% from the floor. The NEC's leading shot-blocker, Nwaigwe's 3.11 average entering the January 27 St. Francis Brooklyn game ranked 11th nationally. Nwaige has blocked 58 shots this season, second all-time in Wagner history, and is now up to 74 for her career which, in just 54 career games, places the 6-3 Nwaigwe seventh on the Seahawk all-time career list.
 
SFU is in its longest span away from Loretto in NEC play and has compiled a 3-2 record in road league contests thus far. Saint Francis has got it done from the free throw line as of late, against LIU it shot 82% (18-22) and against Mount St. Mary's it shot 87% (13-15) from the charity stripe. Aisha Brock put up a career-high 24 points in the win over LIU Brooklyn; it was the sophomore's first 20 points performance of her young SFU career.

NOTES
 
WAGNER CAREER RECORDS

3-PT FIELD GOALS MADE
1. Joy Gallagher, 2002-2006..........................240
2. Susan Moffat, 1994-1998...........................236
3. Marie L. Archambault, 2009-2013.............234
4. Chris Ander4son, 1988-1992....................224
5. Amanda Young, 1995-1999....................... 167
6. Toni Roker, 1999-2003.............................   158
7. Stephanie McBride, 2007-2011.................113
8. Patti Winterfeldt, 1990-1994...................... 101
9. Casey Stokes, 2005-2009............................93
10. Jordyn Peck (2012 – Present)...............    88
       Kim McGhee, 1999-2003............................88

3-PT FIELD GOALS ATTEMPTED
1. Joy Gallagher, 2002-2006...........................698
2. Susan Moffat, 1994-1998............................681
3. Marie-L. Archambault, 2009-2013.............648
4. Chris Anderson, 1988-1992...................... 603
5. Amanda Young, 1995-1999........................483
6. Toni Roker, 1999-2003.................................449
7. Stephanie McBride, 2007-pres.................. 348
8. Patti Winterfeldt, 1990-1994....................... 310
9. Casey Stokes, 2005-2009...........................300
10. Jordyn Peck (2012 – Present)..................268
 
Career Blocks
1. Ali Ridge, 2004-2008................................... .201
2. Kelly Clark, 2008-2012..................................184
3. Meredith Kerns, 1998-2002.......................   153
4. Cynthia Quinlan, 1986-90............................ 124
5. Stephanie Samuels, 1982-1986................. 111
6. Ashley Linscott, 2000-2004............................96
7. Ugo Nwaige (2011-present)..........................74
 
Single-Season Blocks
1. Ali Ridge, 2005-2006..................................      66
2. Ugo Nwaigwe (2013-2014).............................58

Follow Wagner Athletics on Twitter (@wagnerathletics) for all the latest news and updates on the athletic department, @WagSwagg_WBB for news and updates on the women's basketball program and @CERMIGNANO for news on the second-year coach