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Hackensack, NJ –Freshman guard Jasmine Nwajei (Rockaway Park, NY/Murry Bergtraum) tossed in a game-high 26 points and sophomore guard Jordyn Peck (Shaker Heights, OH/Shaker Heights) added 21 but Fairleigh Dickinson hit 7-of-8 free throws in outscoring Wagner 9-0 over the final 1:40 to pull away for an 82-70 Northeast Conference (NEC) victory.

Five days after registering an impressive 67-51 win over first-place Robert Morris on Monday night, the Seahawks saw their NEC record fall to 4-8 and their season mark fall to 5-17, while the Knights picked up their first league win of the year and are now 1-10 in conference and 2-20 overall.

Today's battle between the Seahawks and Knights featured 13 ties and 10 lead changes.

Redshirt-sophomore center Ugo Nwaigwe (Valley Stream, NY/Valley Stream South) followed up her eight-point, seven-block, 24-rebound affair vs. RMU with her third double-double of the season, tallying 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds this afternoon. Entering today's contest tied for seventh in the nation at 3.38 blocks per game, Nwaigwe came up with seven more rejections against the Knights to increase her single-season school-record total to 78.

For the Knights, Desiree Crawford delivered a team-high 21 points, along with nine rebounds, Thomas added 19 points and eight boards, while Cruz and Amanda Andrades chimed in with 16 and 14 points, respectively, as FDU snapped a 16-game losing streak. The Knights' initial win of the season came back on November 24 when FDU recorded a 68-58 victory over Columbia.

After falling behind 17-10 after six minutes of play, Wagner reversed course, outscoring the Knights 23-14 over the next 12 minutes. Over this span, the Green & White steadily chipped away at the deficit until a Nwajei layup with 2:38 left in the half gave the Seahawks their first lead at 33-31.

A Nwajei jumper, followed by a Peck runner in the lane, made it 37-31 and the Seahawks went on to take a 38-33 halftime lead. Wagner appeared to be gaining control of the game at this point as the Seahawks turned in their season-best  shooting half, knocking down 58% (15-of-26) of their shots from the field.

Nwajei led the way in the opening stanza with 13 while 6-3 redshirt sophomore center Ugo Nwaigwe (Valley Stream, NY/Valley Stream South) had nine first-half points to go with five blocks and five rebounds. Her 3-of-4 shooting effort in opening half helped Wagner enjoy a 20-10 edge in points in the paint over the game's first 20 minutes.

FDU went on an 11-4 spurt during the opening 3:07 of the second half, seizing a 44-42 lead following a pair of free throws by Brianna Thomas. The teams then went back and forth over the next 9:28, a stretch that included six lead changes and six ties, the last one coming on a Thomas jumper with 7:23 left which  made it a 63-63 game.

The Knights then went on a 7-0 run over the next 3:30, capped by an Anastasia Williams free throw at the 3:55 mark, in opening a 70-63 cushion. A Nwaigwe block led to a run out that resulted in a Peck three-pointer off a kick-out feed from redshirt –freshman guard Jazmine Hamlet (Manhattan, NY/Francis Lewis), that made it a 70-66 game with 3:34 left.

After the Knights built the lead to six at 73-67 on a Thomas layup with 2:34 to go, Peck answered with another three at the 2:04 mark to make it a 73-70 game. This would turn out the be the last points of the game for Wagner, however, as the Seahawks missed their final six shots from the floor while the Knights made 7-of-8 free throws in this stretch to make it in 80-70 game.  Kelsey Cruz then hit a layup with one second to go as FDU fashioned the 82-70 win.

The Knights outshot Wagner 44%-33% and sank 20-of-30 free throws in the second half while the Seahawks were just 6-of-11 from the line after intermission. Aided by its game-ending 9-0 margin, FDU wound up outscoring the Seahawks 49-32 in the second half.

The Seahawks will now make the long trek to Smithfield, RI to meet Bryant on Monday, February 10 at 7:00 pm.