Staten Island, NY – The Wagner women's basketball team plays host to Bryant, who is tied for fourth place in the Northeast Conference (NEC) standings on Saturday, February 25 at 1:00 p.m. in the first game of a doubleheader with the Seahawk and LIU Brooklyn men's teams to meet at 4:00 p.m.
Senior Day
Saturday is Senior Day as the Wagner women's basketball program will honor seniors
Taylor Butigian (Rockaway Park, NY / Christ the King),
Jackie Dluhi (Middletown, NJ / Middletown South) and
Sofia Roman (White Plains, NY / White Plains / Dartmouth), a graduate student who suffered a season-ending injury in preseason camp.
Taylor Butigian
A native of Rockaway Park, NY and a a standout for the renowned Christ the King Girls High School program. The 6-1 forward has seen action in 95 games during her Wagner career, with 32 starting assignments. In that time, she has proven to be one of the top shot-blockers in Wagner history as her 110 blocks rank sixth on the Seahawk all-time career list. In addition to her high basketball IQ, which has helped allow her to dish out 67 career assists, she is an 80 percent free throw shooter for her career, and enters today's play having scored 297 career points while pulling down 283 rebounds, including a career-high 12 boards at Sacred Heart earlier this season. Holder of a 3.2 GPA as an Art major with a minor in Art History,
Jackie Dluhi
A fixture in the Seahawk lineup throughout her career, this 5-11 forward from Middletown, NJ, was a standout at Middletown South High School prior to her arrival on Grymes Hill. Jackie has played in 109 career games during her four-year Seahawk career, with 61 starts. In that time, she has secured 338 career rebounds, tallied 283 points, while totaling 81 assists and 31 blocked shots. On December 2, 2015, she tossed in a career-high 17 points in a victory over NJIT and pulled down a career-best 11 rebounds vs. Yale on December 17, 2014. A member of the NEC Academic Honor Roll, Jackie maintains a 3.8 GPA while majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in finance and a minor in economics.
Sofia Roman
A Dartmouth University graduate who transferred to Wagner in the spring of 2016, Sofia was preparing to compete as a graduate student for the Seahawks when she suffered an unfortunate season-ending knee injury in the fall. Following a two-year career at Dartmouth College, this 5-7 guard from White Plains, NY took the stage on the international level. She earned a spot on the 2015 Philippine Women's National team and is a core team member of the National Team that is striving to earn the Phillipines' first-ever Olympic bid at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, Japan. Having earned her undergraduate degree in government at Dartmouth in 2016, Sofia is in the midst of pursuing a master's degree in Higher Education and Organization here at Wagner, where she holds a 3.9 GPA.
Seahawks Still Mathematically Alive for NEC Tournament Berth
The bottom line is for Wagner (3-13) to make the NEC Tournament, the Seahawks would need to win both of their remaining game, vs. Bryant and vs. LIU Brooklyn at home on Monday. If Wagner wins both, there's a chance to either tie St. Francis Brooklyn (5-11 NEC) or finish in a three-way tie with LIU Brooklyn (4-12 NEC). This is where it gets complicated. In a two-way tie, Wagner would need Saint Francis U (11-5) to finish ahead of Robert Morris (12-4) in the standings since the Seahawks defeated SFU and St. Francis Brooklyn was swept by the Red Flash. Note: If SFU and RMU finish tied, the tiebreaker between Wagner and St. Francis Brooklyn would come down to RPI, since both teams would have the same exact remaining wins (BRY, LIU and FDU). St. Francis Brooklyn is currently 326 in the RPI and Wagner is at 338. The same applies in a three-way tie since LIU doesn't have a win over SHU, RMU or SFU. Bottom line, to make the NEC Tourney, Wagner needs to win two games and then receive help from other teams.
Kerstie Phills Named NEC Rookie of the Week For Eighth Time
Somerset, NJ (Feb. 22) – Freshman
Kerstie Phills (Charlotte, N / Charlotte Christian) has been named Northeast Conference (NEC) Rookie of the Week for the eighth time, the league office announced today. The 5-9 forward continued to pace NEC freshmen in scoring last week, extending her streak of double-digit outputs to 17 consecutive contests. The first-year Seahawk averaged 14.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while shooting 48 percent from the field during Wagner's split weekend. Making the short trip to St. Francis Brooklyn on Saturday, Phills poured in a game-high 18 points to go along with six boards and three steals. Phills fought through foul trouble to score 10 points in 22 minutes during Monday night's setback to Mount St. Mary's. She grabbed eight boards and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe as Wagner built a large lead before falling. Phills, who leads all NEC rookies in both all games (12.8 ppg.) as well as conference games (15.8 ppg), eclipsed the Wagner record for most NEC Rookie of the Week honors last week when her seventh rookie nod allowed her to pass the previous mark of six shared by
Meredith Kearns (1998-1999) and
Jasmine Nwajei (2013-2014).
Wagner-Bryant All-Time SeriesWagner (4-23, 3-12 NEC) and Bryant (14-13, 9-7 NEC) meet 15th time in the all-time series and the Bulldogs hold a 13-1 lead, including a 70-61 win over the Seahawks back on January 16 in Smithfield, RI.
Wagner-Bryant: The Last Time: Bryant 70, Wagner 61 - January 16, 2017,
Led by 20 points from freshman forward
Kerstie Phills, along with 15 points and 10 rebounds from sophomore guard
Julia McClure, the Wagner women's basketball team gave Bryant a scare before falling 70-61 in a back and forth game that featured 14 ties and 22 lead-changes matched her then-career high (at Central Connecticut, 12/29) of 20 points (currently 24 points at LIU Brooklyn, [1/23]). For McClure, the 15-point, 10-rebound effort marked her third double-double of the season and second in the last three games. The 5-8 McClure was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line, in addition to recording four assists and a steal. Crouch was Wagner's third-leading scorer in the game, following her career-high 17-point outburst at Sacred Heart on Saturday, with eight points. Freshman guard
Corinn Baggs tallied seven points on 3-of-5 shooting, to go with three assists and a steal in a spirited 39-minute stint. Senior forward
Jackie Dluhi finished with five points, including a big second-half three-pointer, while junior guard
Tanasia Russell and Butigian chipped in with four and two points, respectively. Bryant was led by forward Alex Klein who matched Phills' game-high 20 points, with much of her work coming from the line, as she was 10-of-12 from the charity stripe. Naomi Ashley was an effective 6-of-7 from the floor, finishing with 17 points along with eight rebounds, while Palmer and Morgan Olander hit for 13 and 10 points, respectively. For the game, the Bulldogs shot 50 percent (23-of-46) and were 22-of-29 from the foul line while Wagner shot 39 percent (23-of-59), with those 23 made field goals being a season high. The Seahawks were credited with 14 assists on those 23 makes and did a good job taking care of the ball, committing just 15 turnovers while Bryant recorded 13 assists and also turned the ball over 15 times. Led by McClure's eight rebounds, and seven and five coming from Baggs and Dluihi, respectively, Wagner held a 33-31 edge in the glass against the much taller Bulldogs. The feisty Seahawks trailed by a narrow 30-28 margin in points in the paint and led in both points off turnovers (18-14) and second-chance points (18-8). Bryant, meanwhile, held slight edges in fast-break points (6-2) and in bench scoring (10-9).
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Heather Jacobs:
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