Pictured Above: Sophomore forward Sofia Roma (Courtesy of Pitt Athletics)

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Pittsburgh, PA – The Wagner women's basketball team fell at ACC member Pittsburgh, 67-41, at the Petersen Events Center on Friday morning in the 2015-16 season opener for both teams.

Wagner was led in scoring by 6-2 sophomore forward Sofia Roma (Richmond Hill, NY/Nazareth Regional), who tallied eight points, on 3-of-8 shooting from the floor while grabbing five rebounds.  Newcomer Alexis Smith (Medford, NY/St. John the Baptist), a 5-9 fifth-year senior guard who transferred in from the University of Illinois, tossed in seven points while pulling down seven rebounds and dishing out three assists in her Seahawk debut.  Junior guard Jasmine Nwajei (Rockaway Park, NY/ Murray Bergtraum) made her presence felt on the boards, ripping down a team-high nine rebounds and dished out three assists to tie Smith for team-high honors.
 
Four Panthers finished in double-figures, led by Aysia Bugg's game-high 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor.  Bugg also dished out a team-leading four assists.  Brenna Wise posted a double-double, finishing with 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds while teammates Kauai Bradley and Stasha Carey added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
 
Pittsburgh took an early 4-0 lead, but the tenacious Seahawks were able to answer back with seven straight points, led by Roma, who netted five of those.  Junior forward Jackie Dluhi (Middletown, NJ/Middletown South) added a baseline jumper to give the Green & White a 7-4 lead at the 5:26 mark of the first quarter. Wagner scored eight of the final 15 points of the frame, giving the visitors a 16-13 advantage after one quarter of play. The Seahawks' swarming defense held the Panthers to just 28.6 percent from the floor (6-for-21) while not allowing a made three-pointer in seven Panther chances in the opening quarter.
 
Wagner took an 18-16 early second quarter lead after Lyndsay Rowe (South River, NJ/St. John Vianney) converted one-of-two from the charity stripe.  Pitt then seized the momentum, embarking on a 9-2 run over a nearly three-minute stretch in grabbing a 25-20 lead with just 3:35 to go until the intermission. At the 2:54 mark of the second quarter, Smith drained her first three-pointer as a Seahawk from the right wing, cutting Pitt's lead to just two, 25-23. Before the end of the first half, Smith once again came up big for her squad, drilling her second three-pointer of the contest, which put an end to a 9-0 Panther run as the Seahawks found themselves trailing, 34-26, at the break. 
 
For the half, the Seahawks shot 34.5 percent from the field (10-of-29), while holding a slim 21-20 advantage on the boards.  Pitt forced nine Seahawk turnovers which led to 10 points while Wagner was able to score 11 points on second-chance opportunities in the first half.   
 
The Seahawks found themselves trailing by only six, 36-30, after a mid-range jumper from Dluhi and a Nwajei layup, in which she was able to get past two Pitt defenders. The Panthers closed out the quarter on a decisive 14-4 run, however, increasing their lead to 50-34.  In the third quarter, Pitt limited Wagner to just 3-of-13 from the floor and just 1-of-5 accuracy from beyond the arc. In the fourth, Wagner was unable to mount a comeback as the Panthers outscored the Seahawks, 17-7 in the final frame in securing the win. 
 
The Seahawks have a quick turnaround as they travel to Norfolk, VA, to tangle with Conference USA member, Old Dominion, on Sunday, November 15. Tipoff is slated for 2:00 pm.

Follow Wagner Athletics on Facebook (facebook.com/WagnerAthletics), Twitter (@wagnerathletics), Instagram (@wagnerathletics) and YouTube (@WagnerSeahawks) for all the latest news and updates on the athletic department. Follow the women's basketball team on Twitter @WagSwagg_WBB for news and updates on the women's basketball program and @CERMIGNANO for news on the fourth-year coach.