Staten Island, NY – The Wagner women's basketball team, fresh off of two consecutive victories, plays host to Central Connecticut tonight at 7:00 p.m. at the Spiro Sports Center on Play4Kay Night.
 
Pay4Kay Night
Tonight's Wagner-Central Connecticut contest is "Pay4Kay" Night in support of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Named for the late North Carolina State head coach, the Kay Yow Fund raises awareness and funds in supports of women's cancer research. In the last decade, the Kay Yow Fund has allocated more than five million dollars to cancer research. All fans who wear pink to Monday's game will receive free admission.
 

Last Time Out
Five-time NEC Rookie of the Week Kerstie Phills (Charlotte, NC / Charlotte Christian) scored a game-high 18 points to lead five players in double figures as the Wagner women's basketball team won its second straight game, and first on the road, by a 74-66 count at Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday. With her 18-point effort, the 5-9 Phills has now hit for double digits in 12 straight games, including all 11 NEC contests, and 14 of her last 15 overall. This marks the first time this season that the Seahawks have placed five players in double figures. In addition to Phills' 18, Wagner received double-digit efforts from sophomore guard Julia McClure (Secaucus, NJ / Se-caucus), who had 15, junior guard Tanasia Russell (Vineland, NJ / Vineland) and freshman guard Kellie Crouch (North Brunswick, NJ / St. John Vianney), who hit for 13 points each, while freshman guard Corinn Baggs (Staten Island, NY / Staten Island) added 10. The win avenged a 59-53 loss to the Knights at the Spiro Sports Center back on January 7. On the heels of Monday night's wire-to-wire 58-45 victory over St. Francis Brooklyn, today's triumph gives Wagner its first two-game winning streak since the 2014-15 season when the Seahawks won three straight – over Stony Brook, Columbia and Saint Francis U. The last time the Green & White won two consecutive NEC games was back in 2013-14. That season, Wagner won three straight, defeating Bryant, St. Francis College and Fairleigh Dickinson, en route to compiling an 8-10 NEC record (9-21) and an appearance in the NEC tournament. After FDU jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead, the Seahawks answered with a 9-0 run to go up by a 9-4 count. The game was tied at 13-13 tie after the first quarter before Wagner pulled away by outscoring the Knights 18-4 in the second quarter in running out to a 31-17 halftime lead. McClure led the second-quarter surge with nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from three-point range while Phills added five in the quarter to give her a team-high 11 for the half. The Seahawks opened the second half on a 6-0 run in building a 36-18 lead. This 18-point advantage, which Wagner matched at 38-20 with 5:00 left in the third quarter, was the biggest lead of the day for the Seahawks and second-largest of the season. In Monday's win over SFBK, the Seahawks built a season-high 19-point lead in the third quarter. Seven different Seahawks found the scoring column as senior forwards Taylor Butigian (Rockaway Park, NY / Christ the King) and Jackie Dluhi (Middletown, NJ / Middletown South) finished with three and two points, respectively, For FDU, Madelynn Comly and Kiana Brown led the way with 13 points apiece while Amina Markovic added 11. Comly was just 1-of-12 shooting on the day but a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line. Wagner outshot FDU 48.0 percent-30.3 percent and led in points in the paint by a 28-22 margin.
 
Team Superlatives From Saturday's 74-66 Win at FDU
Most Points (74)
Most Free Throws Made (20)
Second-Most FG Made (24) (Most is 26 at LIU)
First two-game winning streak since 2014-15
First two-game NEC winning streak since 2013-14
 
Individual Superlatives
Freshman Kerstie Phills now up to 16.0 ppg. in NEC / 12.1 ppg. overall
Phills has scored in double figures now in 12 straight games (all 11 NEC) and 15 of 16 overall
Phills has now scored in double figures in 15 of 22 games overall
Junior Tanasia Russell now in double figures in 13 of 21 games overall
Sophomore Julia McClure one point shy of career high today (16 vs. Albany)
Freshman Kellie Crouch third-highest scoring game (17 vs. RMU, 14 vs. SHU - Home)
Freshman Corinn Baggs fifth double-digit scoring game (double digits now in 4 of last 5 game)
First time this season that 5 players scored in double figures
 
Wagner-CCSU – The All-Time Series
Tonight's matchup marks the 39th all-time meeting between the Seahawks and Blue Devils with CCSU holding a 23-15 edge in the all-time series. In their most recent meeting back on December 29, Central pulled away late for a 66-53 win in New Britain, CT. The teams split their two meetings last season with each team posting a win on the other's home floor. On January 16, 2016, CCSU posted a 62-52 victory on Grymes Hill before Wagner returned the favor with a 64-63 road win on February 20, 2016.
 
First Meeting This Season at Central Connecticut (12/29/16)
Despite a career night by freshman Kerstie Phills (Charlotte, NC / Charlotte Christian), who scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, the Wagner dropped a 66-53 decision to Central Connecticut at Detrick Gym. Junior guard Tanasia Russell (Vineland, NJ / Vineland) had the range for the second consecutive game as the 5-8 guard followed a 17-point effort vs. Princeton with a season-high 18-point outing. For the game, Phills and Russell combined to shoot 16-of-29, with Phills going 8-of-14 from the field and Russell converting 8-of-15 attempts. Sophomore guard Julia McClure (Secaucus, NJ / Secaucus) played a solid all-around floor game with eight points to go with a career-high 12 rebounds and a career-tying four assists. For Central Connecticut, the Blue Devils placed three players in double figures with Cebria Outlow's 18-point, 17-rebound affair leading the way while Kiana Patterson and Aleah Epps added 14 and 10 points, respectively. The Seahawks made Outlow work hard for her points as the 5-9 freshman forward was just 6-of-20 from the floor. The score was tied at 9-9 after one quarter with seven of the Seahawk points coming from Phills. Central outscored Wagner 25-13 in the second quarter, despite eight points from Russell, in taking a 34-22 lead at the intermission. The Green & White played their best basketball in the third quarter, outscoring Central 17-12 in cutting the deficit to seven at 46-39 entering the final stanza. Wagner would get to within five points, at 46-41, following a pair of Phills free throws to being the fourth. Central, however, answered with a 9-0 run, capped by an Outlow layup with 7:47 left, to increase its lead to 59-45 en route to posting the 66-53 win. Wagner played tight defense throughout this contest, holding the Blue Devils to 31.8 percent shooting (21-of-66), but the Seahawks were undone by committing 21 turnovers while CCSU turned the ball over just 11 times. The Green & White shot 39.6 percent  (21-of-53) from the floor and held their own on the glass, as the Blue Devils held a slim 42-38 edge in the rebounding department. Points in the paint were even at 24-24, Wagner led 15-12 in second-chance points, but those 21 turnovers led to a critical 24-11 CCSU advantage in points off turnovers.

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