Brooklyn, NY - The Wagner women's basketball team, playing its best basketball of the season of late and coming off a tough overtime loss at Sacred Heart, makes the short trip to LIU Brooklyn tonight for a 7:00 p.m. Northeast Conference (NEC) matchup at the Steinberg Wellness Center.

First Meeting of Season Between Wagner and LIU Brooklyn
Tonight's matchup will be the first meeting of the season between the Seahawks and the Blackbirds as the teams will face one another again in Staten Island on in the regular season final on February 27.

The Series
This is the 81st all-time meeting between the schools and LIU Brooklyn holds a 45-35 lead in the all-time series.

About the Seahawks
Wagner (1-17, 0-7 NEC) is under the direction of first-year head coach Heather Jacobs, who arrived on Grymes Hill in April after building championship programs at Division III Daniel Webster College, and most recently, Division II Adelphi College. The Seahawks have been led of late by freshman forward Kerstie Phills (Charlotte, NC / Charlotte), who has earned a program-record four consecutive NEC Rookie of the Week awards. Wagner has three players averaging in double figures. Phills leads the way with an NEC scoring average of 14.1, tops among all freshmen in the league, on 46.4 percent shooting, to go with her team-leading 6.6 rebounds per game. Deep-shooting 5-6 freshman guard Kellie Crouch (North Brunswick, NJ / St. John Vianney) is hitting for 9.7 ppg. in NEC play, thanks in large part to her 38.6 percent three-point shooting (19-of-50) while sophomore guard Julia McClure checks in at 9.4 ppg. in conference games, followed closely by slashing 5-8 junior guard Tanasia Russell (Vineland, NJ / Vineland), who averages 9.7 ppg. in league and a team-best 11.0 ppg. overall. Overall, leads the team in scorinng at 11.0 ppg., McClure (Secaucus, NJ / Secaucus), who averages 6.57 caroms per game overall and has three double-doubles to her credit.  McClure check in at 8.1 ppg., while 5-10 freshman guard Corinn Baggs (Staten Island, NY / Staten Island Academy) averages 4.9 ppg., and 4.9 rpg. and is fresh off a career-high 14-point outing in Saturday's OT loss at Sacred Heart. Up front, 6 -1 senior forward Taylor Butigian (Rockaway Park, NY / Christ the King) contributes 2.8 ppg. and 5.2 rpg., which is third-best on the team, while senior forward Jackie Dluhi (Middletown, NJ / Middletown South) is fourth on the team in rebounding (4.3 rpg.).

About the Blackbirds
LIU Brooklyn, led by second-year head coach Stephanie Oliver, a former top assistant at Seton Hall, is 2-16 overall on the season and 1-6 in NEC play. The Blackbirds are in the midst of a six-game losing streak with the most recent defeat coming on Saturday, 64-46 defeat at Fairleigh Dickinson. LIU is led in scoring by 5-8 senior guard Shanovia Dove, who checks in at 15.2 ppg., and is second on the team in rebounding a 6.0 rpg. Freshman 6-2 center Aja Boyd is next in scoring at 10.1 ppg. and pulls down a team-best 6.3 rpg. After these two, the next leading LIU scorer is 5-8 senior guard Brianna Farris who scores at 5.2 ppg. clip off the bench for the Blackbirds and is coming off a 15-point outing at Fairleigh Dickinson, which came on a blazing 5-of-6 shooting afternoon from three-point range.

Wagner Last Time Out
Freshman guard Corinn Baggs (Staten Island, NY / Staten Island Academy) tossed in a career-high 14 points and junior guard Tanasia Russell (Vineland, NJ / Vineland) scored 10 of her 14 points in the second half as the Wagner women's basketball team took defending Northeast Conference (NEC) regular season champion Sacred Heart to the wire before falling by a 62-52 count in overtime. The Seahawks overcame an eight-point second-half deficit in forging a 46-46 tie after regulation before the Pioneers outscored Wagner 16-4 in the extra session to pull away for the win. In surviving this defensive-minded slugfest, SHU evens its season record at 9-9 and moves to 6-1 in the NEC. While the Seahawks fall to 1-17 on the season, 0-7 in league play, the Seahawks continue play a competitive brand of basketball against top competition. 

Wagner Signs Pair Of International Students For 2017-18 Season
Wagner first-year head women's basketball coach Heather Jacobs has signed two highly-regarded international players, Joellen How from Opunake, New Zealand and Taylah Simmons from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, each of whom are enrolled in classes at Wagner College and will compete in practices immediately before becoming eligible to play in the 2017-18 season. How is a 5-10 guard from Opunake, New Zealand where she competed for the New Plymouth Girls' High School which is a member of the Taranaki Secondary Schools Association (TSSA). After earning New Plymouth's MVP award in 2016, How was selected to compete in the 2016 New Zealand World Basketball Championships. "Joellen has a terrific ability to read the game," said Jacobs. "Not only can she shoot it and score but she puts her teammates in positions to be successful. She is a special player because she will not only contribute but she has the ability to make those around her better." Simmons is a 6-0 guard, who competed for Canterbury Girls' Secondary College and boasts a wide and varied basketball resume. She averaged 13.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 18 games in helping to lead the Nunawading Spectres, to a semifinal appearance in the 2016 Victorian Youth Championship while earning All Star 5 recognition in the process. The Specteres have produced more Australian Olympic and World Championship players and coaches than any other program in the country. Simmons also spent time with the Balwyn Redbacks, Ebees and Wattle Park Saints in Melbourne East Basketball Association (MEBA) / Greater Eastern Basketball Conference (GEBC) competition. "Taylah is extremely versatile with the ability to score in multiple ways," Jacobs said. "She is going to thrive within our system. Her effort and understanding of the game can be easily noted and we expect her to make a significant impact immediately."