Philadelphia, PA - The Wagner women's basketball team will play its third consecutive road game of the young season when the Seahawks travel to the city of brotherly love to meet the Temple University Owls in a 7:00 p.m. tip-off tonight at McGonigle Hall.
 
Wagner Season to Date
*The Seahawks have opened the 2017-18 season by dropping games at Virginia Tech (11/10) and at James Madison.
 
*Wagner was much more competitive in the second matchup, vs. JMU on Sunday, as fifth-year senior forward Sierra Clark (Hughesville, MD / Archbishop Spalding), who was recruited to and played for Heather Jacobs at Adelphi University where she went on to earn Division II All-American honors last season, recorded game highs with 22 points and nine rebounds in a 68-5 loss.
 
*The Seahawks trailed by just 12 points at the half, 38-26, and when the athletic 5-11 Clark drained a top of the key three-pointer to open the second stanza, Wagner was within nine at 38-29. While this is as close as the Green & White would get the rest of the way, the Seahawks continued to hustle and scratch throughout.
 
*Clark added a game-high four blocked shots while coming up with two steals during a spirited 37 minutes of playing time.
 
*Another major positive for Wagner was the play of freshman guard Alayshia Dailey (Severn, MD / Old Mill), who came off the bench with 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting, to go with four rebounds and three steals, in 30 minutes of action.
 
*In the season opener vs. ACC member Virginia Tech, Taylor Emery scored 20 points to lead five players in d
ouble figures as the Hokies defeated Wagner 99-32 in the season opener for both teams at Cassell Coliseum.
 
*Redshirt freshman guard Morgan Lenahan (Haddonfield, NJ / Haddon Township / Neumann and Goretti), scored the first basket of the game, and season, for Wagner and went on to finish with a team-high 10 points in her first collegiate game.
 
*Wagner's leading returning scorer, senior guard Tanasia Russell (Vineland. NJ / Vineland), who averaged 10.3 points per game a year ago, added eight points on 4-of-7 shooting.
 
*Wagner had just seven players in uniform, all of whom found the scoring column. Senior forward Samantha Sullivan (Manasquan, NJ / Manasquan) matched her career high with four points while freshman guard Alayshia Dailey (Severn, MD / Old Mill) added four points as well for the Seahawks.
 
*Chipping in with two points apiece were fifth-year senior forward Sierra Clark (Hughesville, MD / Archbishop Spalding / Adelphi U), junior guard Nakylia Carter (Oklahoma City, OK / Putnam City North / Butler CC [KS], and freshman guard Khaleah Dixon-Edwards (Edwards (London, England / City of London Academy).
 
*Five Seahawks – Lenahan, Carter, Clark, Dailey, and Dixon-Edwards, all played their first career games for the Green & White today.
 
Wagner Temple All-Time Series
This will be the third meeting all-time between the schools and the Owls have won the two prior matchups.
 About the Temple Owls
 *Temple enters Thursday's game with a 1-1 overall record.
*The Owls opened the season with a 96-72 win over Delaware State, but fell to Rutgers, 84-66, on Monday. 
*Temple finished 24-8 a year ago, earning a national ranking, and a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
*Tanaya Atkinson leads the Owls, averaging a double-double of 26.5 points and 13.0 rebounds per game.
*Freshman Mia Davis averages 17.0 points and 13.0 boards per game.
*Senior Khadijah Berger chips in with 8.5 points per game and a team-best 6.0 assists per game.
*Freshmen Emani Mayo (7.0 ppg), Breanna Perry (7.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg), and Desiree Oliver (4.0 ppg) are all regular contributors.
*As a team, Temple shoots 43.6% from the field and 26.1% from three.

Temple Last Time Out
*Temple fell to visiting Rutgers, 84-67 on Monday night.
*Temple rallied to cut a 24-point deficit to just seven points late in the third quarter, but Rutgers rebounded to close out the win.
*The Owls got a 30-point, 13-rebound effort from Tanaya Atkinson, but turned the ball over 23 times in the loss.
*Temple shot 40.7% from the field, but Rutgers scored 28 points off turnovers, accounting for the difference in the game.
*Freshman Mia Davis was the only other Owl in double-figures, scoring 13 points and finishing with nine rebounds.
more Kamiah Smalls each added 10 apiece.
 
Wagner Head Coach Heather Jacobs
Heather Jacobs, who has built a pair of championship programs during her nine-year coaching career, was introduced as the ninth head coach in Wagner College Women's Basketball history on April 20, 2016. Widely regarded as a rising star in the coaching profession, the second-year Seahawk head coach enters her second season on Grymes Hill after serving six seasons as head coach at Adelphi University in Garden City, NY, where she led the Panthers to unprecedented success during her tenure. The high water mark for Jacobs at Adelphi came in 2014-15 when she led her team to a 28-4 record and an 18-2 mark in the NE-10 Conference, claiming the program's first-ever league championship and hosting the NCAA Division II East Regional. Adelphi was ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation and tied a program record for most wins in a season, and Jacobs earned ECAC Division II and All-Met Coach of the Year honors by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association (MBWA). Jacobs came to Adelphi, where she also served as assistant athletic director, following a three-year stint as the head coach/senior women's administrator at Daniel Webster College, a Division III institution in Nashua, NH. In 2009-10, she was named the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Coach of the Year following a school-record best finish of 20-6 and a regular season conference title. During her six years at Adelphi, Jacobs guided the Panthers to four consecutive winning seasons, including a pair of 20-plus win campaigns, while amassing an overall record of 101-72 (.584), including a 65-61 (.516) mark in the NE-10.
 
Temple Head Coach Tonya Cardoza
Temple's all-time winningest women's basketball coach, Tonya Cardoza, is in her 10th season at the helm of the nationally-recognized Owls. Cardoza's most recent season was one of her best, as Temple went 24-8 overall, earned an NCAA bid, and finished second in the tough American Athletic Conference. The Owls' success garnered her several individual honors, among them being named one of 10 finalists for the WBCA National Coach of the Year Award. Cardoza shared American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors with UConn's Geno Auriemma and was also named the Philadelphia Big 5 Coach of the Year for the fourth time in her career. Reaching 20 wins for the third-straight season, Cardoza's 2016-17 Owls notched the program's best-ever RPI of 18 (at the end of regular season play), and finished with a final RPI of 25. Temple was ranked nationally for five weeks of the season, and beat two nationally-ranked teams (#16/17 DePaul, #20/21 USF). Locally, the Owls swept through the Philadelphia Big 5, taking the title with a 4-0 record. Cardoza guided senior guard Feyonda Fitzgerald to a WBCA All-America nod, just the fourth player in Temple history to earn such accolades. Fitzgerald was also a WBCA All-Region selection, a first team American Athletic Conference selection, and the Philadelphia Big 5 Player of the Year. Following the season, Fitzgerald was the 20th overall pick in the 2017 WNBA Draft.

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