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Philadelphia, PA – Michelle Nwokedi scored 20 points, while Sydney Stipanovich and Beth Brzozowski added 18 and 17, respectively, to offset a 30-point performance by junior guard Jasmine Nwajei (Rockaway Park, NY/Murry Bergtraum) in leading the University of Pennsylvania to a 78-50 win over Wagner today at the famed Palestra.
 
Nwajei, who was named Co-Northeast Conference (NEC) Player of the Week earlier in the day, along with Fairleigh Dickinson's Erika Livermore, followed up her school-record 45-point outing on Friday vs. Stony Brook by hitting the 30-point plateau for the third time this season and 13^th time in her career.
 
Penn built a 50-23 halftime lead with Nwajei scoring 21 of the Seahawks' points on 8-of-15 shooting. For the game, Nwajei shot an efficient 50 percent from the floor, connecting on 12-of-24, while adding four rebounds, four steals and an assist.
 
For the second straight game, Nwajei was the lone Seahawk in double figures, however, as Wagner's next leading scorer was junior guard Lyndsay Rowe (South River, NJ/St. John Vianney) with six. Sophomore forward Samantha Sullivan (Manasquan, NJ/Manasquan) added four points while junior forward Taylor Butigian (Rockaway, NY/Christ the King) and senior guard Tessa Wade (Penn Valley, PA/Lower Merion) finished with three points apiece.
 
Also finding the scoring column this afternoon for Wagner were senior guard Jazmine Hamlet (New York, NY/Francis Lewis) and sophomore guard Tanasia Russell (Vineland, NJ/Vineland) who each had two points. Sullivan paced the Seahawks in the rebounding department with six, while sophomore forward Sofia Roma (Richmond Hill, NY/Nazareth Regional) matched Nwajei with four boards.
 
The Quakers shot 46 percent from the floor for the game while Wagner checked in at 37 percent. Penn won the battle of the boards, 44-30, and led in second-chance points (17-4) and bench scoring (16-12). The Seahawks held the upper hand in points in the paint, 28-24, and led in points off turnovers (10-9) and fast break points (12-3).
 
Wagner dressed just nine players as the Seahawks were again without the services of their second and third-leading scorers in senior guard Jordyn Peck (Shaker Heights, OH/Shaker Heights) and fifth-year senior guard Alexis Smith (Medford, NY/St. John the Baptist/Illinois), as well as freshman guard Julia McClure (Secaucus, NJ/Secaucus), each of whom are nursing injuries.
 
Peck, who averages 8.8 points per game and is the Seahawks' 14th all-time leading scorer with 1,243 points, has sat out the last six games while Smith (7.2 ppg.) and McClure (2.0 ppg.) have each been sidelined for five straight contests.
 
With the loss, the Seahawks fall to 2-8 on the season while the Quakers improve their season mark to 7-2. Wagner is next in action on Wednesday, December 30 when the Green & White travels to Columbia to meet the Lions in a 7:00 p.m. start.
 
More Nwajei
The nation's No. 2 scorer last season at 24.8 ppg., Nwajei is now up to 21.2 ppg. this season following today's 30-point performance. Nwajei also moved into seventh place on the Wagner all-time career scoring list, with 1,447 points, as she surpassed Hall of Famer Chris Anderson whose 1,429 career points now rank eighth.
 
Wagner All-Time vs. the Ivy League
With today's loss to Penn, which marked the first-ever meeting between the schools, the Seahawks now own an all-time record of 23-24 vs. the Ivies. Wagner have played seven of the eight Ivy League teams all time, having faced Brown (0-1), Columbia (17-7), Harvard (1-2), Princeton (0-2), Yale (0-3) and now Penn (0-1). The only Ivy League team that Wagner has never faced is Dartmouth. With the win, Penn now holds a 13-7 all-time record against teams from the Northeast Conference (NEC).
 
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.