Game 26: Wagner Seahawks (8-17, 7-7 NEC) at LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds (5-19, 5-9 NEC)
Saturday, Feb. 22 - 2:00 pm
Steinberg Wellness Recreation and Health Center
Live Stats / Free Live Video /
Free Live Audio
Follow the game on Twitter @WagSwagg_WBB
Brooklyn, NY – Led by the Northeast Conference's reigning Player of the Week, in center
Ugo Nwaigwe (Valley Stream, NY/Valley Stream South) and point guard
Jasmine Nwajei (Rockaway Park, NY/Murry Bergtraum), the Wagner women's basketball team makes the short trek to meet LIU Brooklyn in a 2:00 pm tip in search of its fourth consecutive victory.
When Nwaigwe, now ranked second nationally in blocks per game (4.04) and Nwajei, the fifth-leading freshman scorer in the nation, copped their weekly honors, it marked the first time that Wagner women's basketball has ever earned an NEC Player and Rookie of the Week simultaneously.
The Seahawks' recent surge has evened their Northeast (NEC) record at 7-7, upped their overall season mark to 8-17, and put Wagner on the precipice of qualifying for the conference tournament for the first time since the 2009-2010 season.
The Green & White enter Saturday's matchup with the Blackbirds in seventh place in the 10-team NEC. With four games left in the regular season, any combination of one Wagner victory or one loss by ninth-place Central Connecticut (3-11 in NEC), would secure the Seahawks a berth in league tourney.
The top eight teams earn a spot in the 2014 NEC Championship, which held on the home courts of the higher-seeded team. The quarterfinals will be held on Sunday, March 9, the semifinals take place on Wednesday, March 12 with the NEC title game set for Sunday, March 16.
Wagner will also be gunning for a season sweep of LIU Brooklyn as the Seahawks defeated the Blackbirds 71-65 in the NEC opener for both clubs back on January 4. The Blackbirds also enter Saturday's play with hopes of reaching the NEC Tournament and sit in eighth place at 5-9 in league and 7-18 overall.
The Green & White are coming off of a milestone week, headlined by Monday's night's 67-48 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson. A boisterous crowd 1,172 on hand at the Spiro Sports Center, joined with an audience logged in across the globe on
ESPN3, as witness to history as center
Nwaigwe recorded the first triple-double in school history, an accomplishment was nearly matched by Nwajei.
The 6-3 Nwaigwe, who entered the night ranked fifth nationally in blocked shots per game, set a school-record by swatting away 13 shots, while grabbing 19 rebounds and scoring 12 points. In the meantime, Nwajei was delivering a different form of magic, pouring in 29 points, to go with 10 rebounds and nine assists, leaving her one helper shy of joining her teammate in this exclusive club.
On February 15, Nwaigwe tallied a career-high 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting while grabbing 10 boards and blocking seven shots in the Seahawk's 62-53 win over St. Francis Brooklyn. In the FDU and St. Francis Brooklyn games combined, Nwaigwe shot 72.2 percent from the field (13-of-18), collected 29 rebounds and blocked 20 shots. In these last two games, she AVERAGED 13.5 points/14.5 rebounds/10.0 blocks.
Nwajei, the stellar New York City guide, continued her sensational play by averaging 27.0 points, while hitting 50 percent (22-of-44) of her shots from the floor, including 37.5 percent from three-point range (6-of-16), in the victories over St. Francis Brooklyn and Fairleigh Dickinson. In the February 15 win over the Terriers, Nwajei tossed in 25 points on 11-of-19 shooting, and added 10 rebounds and six assists in helping to lead Wagner to a season sweep of its cross-city rivals.
As has been their staple all season long, the Seahawk's calling card on this evening was defense, a stifiling brand of the gritty, in-your-face variety, with a laser focus of intensity - a brand of defense that led to the fewest allowed all season by a Seahawk opponent this season. In the face of this relentless defensive pressure, the Knights were limited to .227 shooting (17-of-75), the lowest percentage a team has shot against Wagner all year.
The 13 blocks by Nwaigwe shattered the previous Seahawk single-game record of 10 held set by Meredith Kearns vs. Central Connecticut on January 4, 1999 and matched by Ali Ridge vs. NJIT on January 18, 2007 and ties an all-time NEC record (Suzanne Johnson, Monmouth vs. Delaware, 12/13/90).
Nwaigwe's 13-block effort also ties for seventh on the NCAA Division I single-game list and is just three shy of the all-time Division I mark of 16 set by TCU's Sandora Irvin vs. UAB on January 16, 2005. Already the all-time Wagner leader in single-season blocks, Nwaigwe cracked the single-season century mark and is now at 101 and counting.
On this historic night, Nawaigwe passed an historic name on the Seahawk record list, displacing Hall of Fame member and all-time Wagner leading scorer, Stephanie Samuels (1982-86), for fifth place on the all-time blocks list. Nwaigwe is now up to 117 career blocks while Samuels' 111 now rank sixth.
The 13 blocks also tie for the high total in a game this season, equaling the number of rejections amassed by Iona's Sabrina Jeridore vs. Pacific back on November 13. Nwaigwe is also tied for the single-game rebounding mark this season as her 24 caroms vs. Robert Morris on February 3 ranks among the top 10 rebounding games in NCAA Division I this season.
NOTES/MILESTONES
Nwaigwe Now Second in Nation in Blocked Shots
Rank Player Cl Ht Pos G BLKS BKPG
1 Jennifer Hamson, BYU Sr. 6-7 C 27 116 4.30
2 Ugo Nwaigwe, Wagner R-So. 6-3 C 25 101 4.04
3 Teanna Robinson, Mercer Jr. 6-5 C 25 98 3.92
4 Sydney Stipanovich, Penn Fr. 6-3 C 21 82 3.90
5 Latricia Lovings, TCU Sr. 6-2 C 26 98 3.77
Jasmine Nwajei 5th-Leading Freshman Scorers in the Nation
Rank Player Cl. HT Pos. Avg.
1. Chrishae Rowe,Oregon Fr. 5-10 G 22.4
2. Kelsey Plum, Washington Fr. 5-9 G 19.9
3. Raven Bankston, Delaware St. Fr. 5-7 G 19.7
4. Kaela Davis, Georgia Tech Fr. 6-2 G 18.2
5. Jasmine Nwajei, Wagner Fr. 5-8 G 17.8
Monday Night Magic Continues
Monday night magic continued for the Wagner women's basketball team - yet again. With the
ESPN3 cameras trained on their every move vs. Fairleigh Dickinson, the Seahawks made it four straight Monday night wins by dispatching of the Knights, 68-47. The Monday night streak began on January 27 with a 73-62 win at St. Francis Brooklyn. One week later, the Green & White downed first-place Robert Morris by a 61-57 count before recording a 78-64 victory at Bryant. Finally, last night Wagner posted an impressive 21-point victory before a national audience to make it four in a row.
Jasmine Nwajei's 20-Plus Scoring Streak Now Seven, Has hit for 20 or more In 11 of 13 NEC Games
Jasmine Nwajei's streak of consecutive 20-point scoring games reached seven in last night's win over FDU, when she tallied a career-high 29 points in the 68-47 win. During NEC play, Nwajei has notched at least 20 in 12 of her 14 games.
Jasmine Nwajei's 20-Point Scoring Streak
1/27 27 at St. Francis Brooklyn
2/1 21 vs. Saint Francis U
2/3 22 vs. Robert Morris
2/8 26 at FDU
2/10 25 at Bryant
2/15 25 vs. St. Francis Brooklyn
2/17 29 vs. FDU
Jasmine Nwajei Has Scored 25 or more Points in Four Straight Games, Five of Last Seven
Not only has Nwajei topped the 20-point plateau in seven straight games but she has now tallied 25 or more points in four consecutive games and five of her last seven contests.
First Three-Game NEC Winning Streak In a Decade
Wagner's 67-48 win over FDU on Feb. 17 gave the Seahawks their first three-game NEC winning streak since the 2003-2004.
Wagner's Last Three-Game NEC Winning Streak
1/21/04 LIU Brooklyn W 81-59
1/26/04 St. Francis Brooklyn W 79-66
1/31/04 Quinnipiac W 45-43
A win at LIU Brooklyn on Saturday would give Wagner its first four-game NEC win streak since the 2002-2003 Seahawks closed the regular season by knocking off UMBC, Mount St. Mary's, St. Francis Brooklyn and LIU Brooklyn between Feb. 22 and March 3.
Most NEC Wins Since 2003-2004
The Feb. 17 win over FDU evened Wagner's NEC record at 7-7, marking the most league wins for the Seahawks since the 2003-2004 squad went 8-10 in conference play. The Seahawks have not qualified for the NEC Tournament since 2009-2010 when the Green & White finished tied for ninth place in a then 12-team league (top eight made tourney) at 6-12 en route to finishing with an overall mark of 9-21.
Milestones
Ugo Nwaigwe's 24 Rebounds vs. Robert Morris (2/3) Third-Best Single-Game Mark in School History
Wagner All-Time Single-Game Rebounds List
1. Cindy Bonforte vs. Queens (2-12-83) 30
2. Mary Gormley at Molloy (1-11-78) 27
3. Ugo Nwaiage vs. Robert Morris (2-3-14) 24
Michelle Diener vs. Monmouth (1-16-93) 24
5. Cindy Bonforte vs. Pace (12-5-81) 23
Ugo Nwaigwe Becomes Wagner's All-Time Single-Season Blocked Shots Leader
Redshirt sophomore center Ugo Nwaige has blocked 101 shots this season in 25 games and is now Wagner's All-Time Single-Season Record-Holder, some 35 blocks more than the previous record-holder, Ali Ridge, had 66 rejections in 2005-2006,
Wagner All-Time Top-5 Single-Season Blocks
1. Ugo Nwaigwe (2013-2014) 101
2. Ali Ridge (2005-2006) 66
3. Meredith Kerns (1998-1999) 57
Ugo Nwaigwe's 13 Blocks against FDU…
-
Shattered the previous Seahawk single-game record of 10 held set by Meredith Kerns vs. Central Connecticut on January 4, 1999 and matched by Ali Ridge vs. NJIT on January 18, 2007 while tying the all-time NEC record (Suzanne Johnson (Monmouth).
-
Ties for seventh on the NCAA Division I single-game list and is just three shy of the all-time Division I mark of 16 set by TCU's Sandora Irvin vs. UAB on January 16, 2005. Already the all-time Wagner single-season blocks' leader, Nwaigwe cracked the century mark thanks to her 13 rejections against FDU and is now at 101 and counting.
-
Ties for the high total an NCAA Division I game this season, equaling the number of rejections amassed by Iona's Sabrina Jeridore vs. Pacific back on November 13
Ugo Nwaigwe Cracks Seahawk Top 5 In Career Blocks
During her 13-block outing vs. FDU on Feb. 17, Nwaigwe passed an historic name on the Seahawk record list, displacing Hall of Fame member and all-time Wagner leading scorer, Stephanie Samuels (1982-86), for fifth place on the all-time blocks list. Nwaigwe is now up to 117 career blocks while Samuels' 111 now rank sixth. Next on the list in fourth place is another Hall of Famer, Cynthia Quinlan, who blocked 124 shots from 1986-1990.
Wagner Career Blocked Shots List
1. Ali Ridge (2004-2008) 201
2. Kelly Clark (2008-2012) 184
3. Meredith Kerns (1998-2002) 153
4. Cynthia Quinlan (1986-1990) 124
5. Ugo Nwaigwe (2011-present) 117
Sophomore Guard Jordyn Peck Continues to Make her Mark in the Seahawk Record Book
Wagner Career 3-Point FG Made List
1. Joy Gallagher (2002-2006) 240
2. Susan Moffat (1994-1998) 236
3. Marie L. Archambault (2009-2013) 234
4. Chris Anderson (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. Jordyn Peck (2012 – Present) 99
10. Casey Stokes (2005-2009) 93
Wagner Single-Season 3-Point FG Made List
1. Joy Gallagher (2003-2004) 99
2. Chris Anderson (1991-1992) 82
3. Toni Roker (1999-2000) 68
Susan Moffat (1997-1998) 68
Susan Moffat (1996-1997) 68
6. Marie L. Archambault (2010-2011) 67
7. Marie L. Archambault (2012-2013) 66
8. Jordyn Peck (2013-2014) 59
Kim McGhee (2002-2003) 59
Susan Moffat (1995-1996) 59
Chris Anderson (1990-1991) 59
