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Queens, NY – Sophomore guard Jasmine Nwajei (Rockaway Park, NY/Murry Bergtraum), the 2014 Northeast Conference (NEC) Rookie of the Year, scored all 21 of her points in the second half but the Wagner women's basketball team was unable to overcome an early deficit in falling, 71-49, at St. John's this afternoon.

In losing to the Red Storm of the Big East Conference, the Seahawks fall to 0-5 on the season while St. John's improves to 5-0.

The Red Storm jumped out to an early 12-0 lead and led 19-6 midway through the first half en route to building a 37-16 halftime lead. Handford and Alexander paced the Red Storm with 12 and 10 points, respectively, in the opening half as St. John's held a 14-0 edge in fast break points while shooting 55 percent.

Alliy Handford led a trio of St. John's players in double figures with 21, while Amber Thompson and Danaejah Grant added 14 points apiece.

With Wagner trailing 52-28 at the 12:39 mark of the second half, Nwajei led the Seahawks on a 13-6 run, scoring 11 of those points, as the Green & White drew to within 17 at 58-41 with 6:12 left. But this is as close as the Seahawks would get as the Red Storm responded with a 12-2 run en route to the victory.

In falling behind 37-16 at the intermission, the Seahawks were paced by eight first-half points from sophomore guard Lyndsay Rowe (South River, NJ/St. John Vianney), who connected on a pair of early three-point jumpers, while redshirt-junior center Ugo Nwaigwe (Valley Stream, NY/valley Stream South) added four points in the opening stanza. Wagner shot 7-of-28 (25 percent) from the floor in the opening half as the Seahawks were victimized by 16 turnovers.

St. John's outscored Wagner 18-6 in the pain in the first half and held a 22-17 rebounding edge, including a 17-12 advantage on the defensive glass.

The Seahawks have another quick turnaround as Wagner makes the short drive to Newark, NJ on Tuesday, December 2 to face the NJIT Highlanders with tip-off set for 7:00 pm.

(Details, stats to follow)

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