Staten Island, NY - The Wagner women's basketball team plays host to the Saint Francis U Red Flash on Saturday, January 28 in a 2:00 p.m. contest that will be streamed live on ESPN 3.

First Meeting of Season Between Wagner and SFU

This will be the first meeting of the season between the Seahawks and the Red Flash as the teams will face one another again in Loretto, PA on February 13.

The Series

This is the 65th all-time meeting between the schools and SFU holds a 43-21 lead in the all-time series.

About the Seahawks

Wagner (1-18, 0-8 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 are led by 5-9 freshman forward Kerstie Phills (Charlotte, NC / Charlotte), who has earned a program-record four consecutive NEC Rookie of the Week awards this season. Phills leads the way with an NEC scoring average of 15.4, tops among all freshmen in the league, on 50.0 percent shooting, to go with her team-leading 6.4 rebounds in conference games On Monday night at LIU Brooklyn, she poured in a career-high 24 points on 11-off-16 shooting at LIU Brooklyn, surpassing her previous career high of 20 points, which she had hit for on two occasions. The versatile Phills has now eclipsed the 20-point mark three times this season, and has hit for double figures in nine consecutive games and 12 of her last 13 overall. Slashing junior guard Tanasia Russell (Vineland, NJ / Vineland) checks in at 10.5 ppg. (9.5 ppg. in NEC play), and has hit for double digits in 10 games this season. Deep-shooting 5-6 freshman guard Kellie Crouch (North Brunswick, NJ / St. John Vianney) is hitting for 8.2 ppg. (9.1 ppg. in NEC), thanks in large part to her 36.6 percent three-point shooting (41-of-112) while sophomore guard Julia McClure checks in at 7.8 ppg. McClure (Secaucus, NJ / Secaucus) is also the team's leading rebounder (6.5 rpg.) and has four double-doubles to her credit.  Freshman guard Corinn Baggs (Staten Island, NY / Staten Island Academy) averages 5.4 ppg., and 4.8 rpg. and followed a career-high 14-point outing in Saturday's OT loss at Sacred Heart with a 13-point effort on Monday at LIU. Up front, 6 -1 senior forward Taylor Butigian (Rockaway Park, NY / Christ the King) contributes 3.4 ppg. and 5.2 rpg. Butigian is coming off a season-high nine-point outing at LIU which came on the heels of a career-high 12-rebound game at SHU. Senior forward Jackie Dluhi (Middletown, NJ / Middletown South) has played in more than 100 games in her career and is fourth on the team in rebounding (4.3 rpg.). 

About the Red Flash

SFU, coming off a 79-67 win over Bryant on Monday night, is 10-9 overall and tied with Sacred Heart for first place in the NEC standings with a 7-1 mark. Picked third in the pre-season NEC coaches' poll, the Red Flash are paced by sophomore guard Jessica Kovatch who averages 22.4 ppg. Kovatch became the fastest player in SFU history and 25th fastest in NCAA history to 1000 points on Monday, reaching the mark in 47 games with a 24-point outburst against Robert Morris. Saint Francis returns four starters from last year's NEC semifinal team.

Wagner Last Time Out

Freshman guard Kerstie Phills (Charlotte, NC / Charlotte Christian) poured in a career-high 24 points and classmate Corinn Baggs (Staten Island, NY / Staten Island Academy) added 13 in a 69-64 loss at LIU Brooklyn on Monday. After Co-NEC leading Sacred Heart to the wire in a tough overtime loss on Saturday, the Seahawks fell took a late 52-51 lead but were outscored 18-12 down the stretch as Wagner went just 1-of-6 in the final 2:11 of the game. In addition to her 13 points, Baggs also came up with a career-high six steals to go with three rebounds and two assists in 39 minutes of action. Senior forward Taylor Butigian (Rockaway Park, NY / Christ the King) also made her presence felt in a big way, tossing in a season-high nine points on 3-of-4 shooting, an effort which came on the heels of a career-high 12-rebound performance at Sacred Heart. The 64 points scored by the Seahawks tonight were a season high as were their 17 assists, 12 steals and 50 percent shooting accuracy (26-of-52). From the free throw line, however, the Green & White went just 8-of-18, a 44.4 percent effort, which was their second-lowest percentage of the season.

Follow us: #CHAOSonthehill
Wagner Athletics       
Women's Basketball:    
Head Coach Heather Jacobs: 
Wagner Gameday: