Staten Island, NY – Playing its best basketball of the season, the Wagner women's basketball team took a 28-21 halftime lead over Sacred Heart and led by nine points midway through the third quarter before the defending Northeast Conference (NEC) regular season champions rallied for a 70-56 victory tonight at the Spiro Sports Center.

Freshman guard Kellie Crouch (North Brunswick, NJ / St. John Vianney), who capped the first half with a buzzer-beating three-pointer, led the valiant Seahawk effort by tossing in a career-high 14 points, spearheaded by a 4-of-8 shooting night from beyond the arc and 5-of-10 shooting overall. Sophomore guard Julia McClure (Secaucus, NJ / Secaucus) delivered her third career double-double, a gritty 13-point, 10-rebound effort, while two-time NEC Rookie of the Week Kerstie Phills (Charlotte, NC / Charlotte Christian) finished with 10 points and five rebounds.For Phills, it marks her fifth consecutive double-digit game and ninth in her last ten outings.

With the win, Sacred Heart improves its season record to 6-9, including a 3-1 mark in the NEC, while the Seahawks fall to 1-13 overall, 0-4 in league play.

After the teams played to a 13-13 stalemate at the end of the first quarter, Wagner opened the second quarter on 12-2 blitz in taking its biggest lead of the game at 25-15.  Ten of 12 points came courtesy of the freshmen trio of Crouch, Phills and guard Corinn Baggs (Staten Island, NY / Staten Island Academy). Baggs, who was a two-time Staten Island high school Player of the Year, made her presence felt with six points, four rebounds and two blocked shots on the evening.

After SHU scored six straight points, Crouch got half of it back when she put the ball behind her back before launching a three from beyond the head of the circle, as Wagner took that 28-21 lead into the intermission.

At the outset of the second half, the Pioneers drew to within five at 33-28 following a Kelcey Castro layup before Crouch shook free for a pair of treys which staked the Seahawks to a 39-30 lead with 5:24 remaining in the third quarter. Sacred Heart then responded with a 17-4 run in building a 47-43 leading heading into the final stanza. The Pioneers then outscored the Seahawks 23-13 over the game's final 10 minutes in fashioning the 14-point win.

Junior guard Tanasia Russell (Vineland, NJ / Vineland) scored all seven of her points in the second half while senior forward Taylor Butigian (Rockaway Park, NY / Christ the King) matched her season high with six points on 3-of-6 shooting and pulled down a season-high eight rebounds to go with two blocked shots.

Castro led a balanced Sacred Heart effort with a game-high 16 points while Katherine Haines added 12 points for the Pioneers. Also hitting for 12 points, which is two below her season average, was fifth-year senior forward and NEC Preseason Player of the Year, Hannah Kimmel.

Sacred Heart shot a blistering 61.7 percent in the second half to finish at 46.9 percent for the game, while the Seahawks checked in at 41.7 percent from the field. The Seahawks held a 36-33 edge in the rebounding department but in the end, were undone by turning the ball over 22 times while SHU had just ten turnovers on the evening as SHU held a staggering 34-9 advantage in points off turnovers. The Pioneers also led in second-chance points (8-4) and fast-break points (8-2) while Wagner held a 14-13 edge in bench scoring.

In all, there were four ties in the game and six lead changes.

The Seahawks conclude a stretch of three straight home games on Saturday, January 9 when they host defending NEC champion Robert Morris in a 1:00 p.m. tip. This matchup is the first game of a doubleheader which will also feature the Seahawk and Colonials' men's teams squaring off at 4:00 p.m.

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