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Highlights I Coach Cermignano Press Conference I Sofia Roma Post-Game Interview (with Pete Mundo)

Staten Island, NY – Sophomore forward Sofia Roma (Richmond Hill, NY/Nazareth Regional) recorded a double-double with 11 points and a career-tying 18 rebounds while senior guard Jazmine Hamlet (New York, NY/Francis Lewis) tossed in a career-high 14 points to lead the Wagner women's basketball team to a 69-48 victory over Lafayette at the Spiro Sports Center.

After Lafayette jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead, Wagner answered with an emphatic, well-executed and game-changing 18-0 run that catapulted the Green & White to a 20-6 lead. After the Leopards ended the quarter, and the run, with a bucket to make it 20-8 after one quarter, the Seahawks widened the margin to 36-20 at halftime and never looked back.

The biggest lead of the game came with 6:34 left in the game on a three-pointer by junior guard Lyndsay Rowe (South River, NJ/St. John Vianney), that made it a 30-point game, at 64-34.



In posting their second convincing win in the last three games, coming a week after their 76-53 win over NJIT on December 2, the Seahawks improve to 2-5 on the season while the Leopards fall to 2-6.

Wagner received contributions from a host of players on a night when the Green & White were without the services of three injured players for the second straight game.

Junior guard Jasmine Nwajei (Rockaway Park, NY/Murry Bergtraum), the reigning Northeast Conference (NEC) Player of the Week and coming off a 32-point game at Yale (12/6), added 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists to the Seahawk cause tonight. Rowe tallied a season-high 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting which included a 2-of-4 effort from three-point range.

Sophomore guard Tanasia Russell (Vineland, NJ/Vineland) provided a spark early for the Seahawks, scoring all nine of her points in the opening half while junior Jackie Dluhi (Middletown, NJ/Middletown South) delivered another sterling performance with eight points, on 4-of-8 shooting, to go with seven rebounds and two assists against a tall Leopard lineup. Junior forward Taylor Butigian (Rockaway Park, NY/Christ the King) came off the bench to score five points and grab six rebounds.

Lafayette had just one player in double figures in 5-6 senior guard Jamie O'Hare, a St. Peter's High School graduate here on Staten Island, who hit for 11. The Leopards' leading scorer entering the game with a 15.6 average, O'Hare was harassed into a 5-for-24 shooting night but did dish out five assists with three steals without committing a single turnover in 38 minutes of play. 6-3 center Harriet Ottewill-Soulsby added nine points for Lafayette.
 
Roma's 18-rebound night tied her career high, originally set at Saint Francis (1/2/15), and helped the Seahawks gain a 52-36 edge in the rebounding department. Wagner outshot Lafayette 42%-30%, while making 73% (11-15) of its free throws as compared to the Leopards who went to the line just six times, hitting three (50%).
 
With the win, the Seahawks take a 5-4 lead over Lafayette in the all-time series between the schools while improving to 15-26 all-time vs. Patriot League foes.

Notes
Sidelined for the second straight game due to injury were fifth-year senior guard Alexis Smith(Medford, NY/St. John the Baptist/U. of Illinois), senior guard Jordyn Peck (Shaker Heights, OH/Shaker Heights), and freshman guard Julia McClure (Secaucus, NJ/Secaucus).
 
Both coaches in tonight's game have ties to the University of Illinois. Wagner fourth-year head coach Lisa Cermignano served as an assistant coach with the Illini from 2009-2012.The Leopards are led by Hall of Fame head coach Theresa Grentz, the head coach of the 1992 U.S. Olympic Team, and former longtime coach at Rutgers and Illinois, who is in her first season at Lafayette. Grentz served as Illinois head coach from 1995-2007.

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.