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Nwajei Post-Game Interview/Highlights (with Pete Mundo)

Staten Island, NY –  Sophomore guard Jasmine Nwajei (Rockaway Park, NY/Murry Bergtraum), saddled with two early fouls and limited to two points at halftime, erupted for 26 second-half points en route to a game-high 28-point outing, while junior guard Jordyn Peck (Shaker Heights, OH/Shaker Heights) scored 14 of her 16 points in the first half, in leading the Wagner women's basketball team to its first win of the season, a 76-70 decision over Stony Brook.

Peck's 16-point outing gives her 989 career points, inching her to within 11 of becoming the 24^th member of the Seahawk women's basketball program's 1,000-point club. Nwajei, meanwhile, is on pace to hit the 1,000-point as a sophomore as she is now up to 731 career points.

Playing one of the nation's toughest schedules, which has included contests vs. Maryland, Rutgers, St. John's Penn State, and VCU, the Seahawks are now 1-9 on the season with Columbia on tap next in a December 30 matchup. With the loss, Stony Brook, which was coming off of a 60-58 comeback win over Lafayette on Friday night, falls to 5-6.

Having been close to victory on several occasions this season, including an overtime loss at Vermont, Wagner delivered its most complete and efficient effort of the season this afternoon, registering season high in points (76), shooting percentage (.509) and field goals made (33). The Seahawks also shot 38.9% from three-point range (7-of-18) and were credited with 11 assists, each of which are the second-best marks recorded in these categories on the year.

Bothered by Stony Brook's press in the opening half, Wagner turned the ball over 10 times in the second half. With Nwajei back on the floor for the duration in the second half, the Seahawks had just three second-half turnovers in finishing with 13 for the game.

With Nwajei sitting out the final 15 of the opening half with those two fouls, Peck shouldered the offensive load for Wagner, with her 14 first-half points coming on 4-of-9 shooting from the floor and 4-of-6 accuracy from the free throw line. Thanks in large part to Peck's offensive contributions, the Seahawks found themselves trailing by just a 35-31 count at halftime.

The 5-8 Nwajei, who has averaged a staggering 33 points in Wagner's last three games, then took over in the second half, getting things started with a jumper at 19:19 that made it a 37-33 game. The Seawolves answered with a 5-2 spurt to increase their lead to seven at 42-35 following a Sabre Proctor layup at the 17:29 mark.

Wagner then countered with an impressive 13-3 run in taking a 48-45 lead on a pair of Nwajei free throws at 15:04. Leading by that same three-point margin at 58-55 following a layup by Stony Brook's Brittany Snow at the 9:09 juncture, Nwajei scored Wagner's next seven points on a three-point jumper, followed by a pair of layups, in taking its biggest lead of the game at 65-57 with 7:35 left.

The Green & White built its lead to 11, at 73-62, on a three-pointer by sophomore guard Lyndsay Rowe (South River, NJ/St. John Vianney), followed by a layup from Peck which narrowly beat the shot clock with 1:58 to go. Stony Brook would fight back to make it a two-possession game on the strength of three-pointers from Kori-Bayne Walker and Chris Scognamiglio, the latter coming with 27 seconds left which made it a 76-70 game. This would be the final points scored in the game however as Wagner held on for the win.

While playing the entire 20 minutes following intermission, Nwajei went 11-of-17 from the floor, including a 2-of-3 effort from beyond the arc. For the game, she wound up 12-of-20 from the field, and, in addition to her 28 points, tied for team-high honors with six rebounds while dishing out three assists and recording two steals. Rowe was the third Seahawk in double figures with 11, which came on 3-of-4 shooting, to go with two steals and one assist.

Sophomore forward Jackie Dluhi (Middletown, NJ/Middletown South) followed up her career-high 11-rebound performance vs. Yale on Wednesday, with a 6-point, 3-rebound effort today, on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting. Freshman guard Tanasia Russell (Vineland, NJ/Vineland) turned in her second straight seven-point game, the same total she had against Yale, while redshirt-sophomore guard Jazmine Hamlet (New York, NY/Francis Lewis) and freshman post player Sofia Roma (Richmond Hill, NY/Nazareth Regional), added four points apiece.

Bayne-Walker led three Seawolves in double figures by hitting for a team-high 25, while Proctor and Snow contributed 14 and 13 points, respectively.

NOTES – In her last three games, Nwajei is averaging 33 points, with a career-high 39 at Vermont (12/14), followed by a 32-point outing vs. Yale (12/17) and 28 today.
 

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