Pictured Above: Sierra Clark (Photo by Lauren Rakes)

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Easton, PA – Graduate forward Sierra Clark poured in a season-high 29 points and while grabbing nine rebounds but Lafayette used a big third-quarter run that helped carry the Leopards to a 70-52 victory over Wagner this afternoon at the Kirby Sports Center.
 
With the loss, the Seahawks conclude the non-conference portion of their schedule with a 2-9 record while Lafayette improves to 4-6.
 
Wagner trailed 22-11 after the first quarter.  When play resumed for the second quarter, the Seahawks used a 9-0 run early which helped the Green & White outscore the Leopards by an 18-8 margin in entering the break trailing by one, 30-29.
 
The lone lead of the game for the visitors came on a 15-foot jumper by freshman Khaleah Dixon-Edwards with 17 seconds showing on the game clock before Natalie Kucowski's runner in the lane concluded the first half of action.
 
With 4:25 remaining in the third quarter, Clark hit a layup off a feed from redshirt freshman guard Morgan Lenahan to get the Seahawks to within two, 39-37. The Leopards closed the stanza scoring nine of the final eleven points thanks to a desperation three-pointer by Olivia Martino that narrowly beat the buzzer, extending the Leopards lead to 48-39.
 
Anna Ptasinki opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer to increase Lafayette's lead to 51-39, a lead that the home squad didn't surrender the rest of the way.
 
Clark's 29-point outburst is her highest game as a Seahawk, eclipsing the 28 points she scored in Wagner's 63-58 win at the College of Staten Island exactly one month ago.
 
A Division II All-American at Adelphi, where she was recruited by, and played two seasons, for Seahawk head coach Heather Jacobs, Clark's collegiate career-high is 36, when she accomplished the feat back on January 9, 2016 against St. Michael's College.
 
For the afternoon, Clark wound up 10-of-20 from the floor, including a red-hot 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. The 5-11 forward also went 5-of-7 from the free throw line, while adding one block and one steal in her 37-minute stint. Now averaging 16.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, the Maryland native came up one rebound shy of recording her sixth double-double of the season. She now has five 20-point games to her credit and has hit for double digits in nine of Wagner's 11 games.
 
Lenahan was the second Seahawk in double figures today, hitting for 11 points, to go with four steals, three assists and three rebounds in 34 minutes of action.
 
Lafayette was led by guard Drew Freeland's 17 points while Kucowski added 15 points and pulled down a game-high 18 rebounds. Sammy Stipa and Alexis Santarelli added nine points apiece for the Leopards.
 
Today's game marked the 10th all-time meeting between the schools and Lafayette now leads the series, 6-4. This was also Wagner's 60th all-time contest vs. a current Patriot League opponent, as the Green & White now stand at 28-32 all-time against the ten-member conference.
 
Northeast Conference (NEC) commences on Friday, December 29 when the Seahawks travel to Smithfield, RI for a noon contest at Bryant, before traveling to Central Connecticut for a 1:00 p.m. tip vs. the Blue Devils on New Year's Eve.
 


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