Staten Island, NY - The Wagner women's basketball team will host the Sacred Heart University Pioneers in Northeast Conference (NEC) play on Monday night in a 7:00 p.m. tip-off at the Spiro Sports Center.
 
About the Seahawks
Wagner (1-13, 0-3 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 in scoring by 5-8 junior guard Tanasia Russell (Vineland, NJ / Vineland) who averages 11.3 points per game and in rebounding by 5-8 sophomore guard Julia McClure (Secaucus, NJ / Secaucus), who averages 6.3 caroms per game.  Freshman Kerstie Phills (Charlotte, NC / Charlotte Christian) has been named the NEC Rookie of the Week two straight times, having earned her most recent honor on January 2, and is second on the team in scoring (9.9 ppg.) and rebounding (5.6 rpg.). In NEC play, the 5-9 forward boasts team-best averages of 16.3 ppg. and 8.7 rpg., highlighted by a career-high 20-point vs. effort vs. Central Connecticut on December 29. Freshman 5-6 guard Kellie Crouch (North Brunswick, NJ / St. John Vianney) and McClure check in at 7.9 and 7.1 ppg. overall, respectively, while 5-10 freshman guard Corinn Baggs (Staten Island, NY / Staten Island Academy) average 3.9 ppg., and 5.5 rpg. Up front, senior forward Jackie Dluhi (Middletown, NJ / Middletown South) is fourth on the team in rebounding (4.9 rpg.). In Saturday's hard-fought 59-53 home loss to Fairleigh Dickinson, the Seahawls welcomed 6-1 senior forward Taylor Butigian (Rockaway Park, NY / Christ the King) who has seen action in just six games due to an ankle injury.
 
About the Sacred Heart Pioneers
The Sacred Heart women's basketball team is coming off its first loss in Northeast Conference play, a 66-53 defeat at Central Connecticut on Saturday. The Pioneers have defeated Robert Morris (69-59) and Saint Francis U (73-63). Sacred Heart is led by NEC Preseason Player of the Year Hannah Kimmel, a 6-0 redshirt senior small forward, who checks in at 14.6 ppg. Also averaging double figures for the Pioneers are 5-8 senior guard Adyasha Williams and 6-2 redshirt freshman forward Katherine Haines who hit for 11.1 and 10.2 ppg., respectively.
 
Wagner Last Time Out
Freshman forward Kerstie Phills (Charlotte, NC / Charlotte Christian), the two-time and reigning Northeast Conference (NEC) Rookie of the Week, tossed in 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds but Fairleigh Dickinson was able to stave off a late Seahawk rally in posting a 59-53 on Saturday at the Spiro Sports Center. Natalie Zamora paced FDU with 12 points while Brianna Thomas and Amina Markovic added 11 apiece as the Knights improve to 3-11 on the season, 1-2 in NEC play. The Seahawks are now 1-13 overall, 0-3 in conference. After FDU jumped out to a 3-0 lead, the Seahawks answered with a 10-3 run in building an early 10-6 lead. FDU then responded with a 13-2 run, bridging the first and second quarters, in taking a 19-12 lead with 7:58 left in the opening half. The tenacious Seahawks responded with a 12-3 output of their own, holding FDU to just 1-of-4 shooting for a 4:20 stretch, in taking a 24-22 lead with 3:38 remaining before halftime. The Knights then closed out the stanza scoring 9 of the final 13 points to take a 31-28 lead into the intermission. Fairleigh Dickinson opened the second half on a 14-2 run in building a 14-point lead at 45-30 with 4:13 left in the third quarter. With 5:49 remaining in the game, the Knights held a 53-40 lead before Wagner went on to an 8-0 spurt to close to with 1:25 to play following a pair of free throws by junior guard Tanasia Russell (Vineland, NJ / Vineland) to make it a 53-48 game. But this is as close as the Seahawks would get as the Knights held on for the win.  Russell, along with freshman guard Kellie Crouch (North Brunswick, NJ / St. John Vianney), finished with eight points apiece while freshman guard Corinn Baggs (Staten Island, NY / Staten Island Academy) and sophomore guard Julia McClure (Secaucus, NJ / Secaucus) added seven points each. Wagner made 6-of-11 shots in the fourth quarter to finish at 36.2 percent for the game, while FDU shot 35.8 percent. The Seahawks also won the rebounding battle, 39-34 and led inn points in the paint by a 28-20 margin. FDU led in points off turnovers (18-13) and bench points (18-14) while the teams were tied at 12-12 in fast break points. There were six ties and four lead changes in the game.

Wagner All-Time vs. Sacred Heart
Monday night's matchup marks the 34^th all-time meeting between the Schools and SHU leads the all-time series 24-9. The Pioneers currently have a five-game winning streak against the Seahawks and have won seven of the last eight head to head matchups dating back the past five season. The last time win for Wagner in the series was back on January 13, 2014 when the Seahawks earned a 79-70 win on Grymes Hill.