Brooklyn, NY – Sierra Clark scored 24 points to go with 13 rebounds and
Morgan Lenahan added 19 points on 5-of-5 shooting from three-point range but St. Francis Brooklyn rallied late for an 80-76 win over Wagner in a Monday Martin Luther King Day matinee at the Pope Physical Education Center.
With the loss, the Seahawks fall to 3-14 on the season, 1-5 in the Northeast Conference (NEC), while the Terriers improve to 6-10 overall and 2-3 in league.
There were a host of positives to come out of this game on the offense end for Wagner as the Seahawks recorded season highs in points (76), field goals made (28), field goal percentage (.538) and assists (20).
The Green & White led this game, which featured eight ties and seven lead changes, for much of the way and by as many as 13 points during the first half. St. Francis narrowed the deficit to 39-33 at halftime before overtaking the Seahawks in the second half.
The versatile 5-11 Clark, who was recruited to and played for Seahawk head coach
Heather Jacobs at Adelphi University, where she went on to earn Division II All-American honors last season, was coming off a
34-point, 10-rebound effort at LIU Brooklyn on Saturday. Today's performance gives Clark a whopping 28.5-point, 11.5-rebound average during the Seahawks' two-game Brooklyn swing.
For the season, the Maryland native is now averaging 18.2 points and 8. 9 rebounds per game overall. In Wagner's six NEC games, the forward averaged 21.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Through 17 games overall, Clark now has eight double-doubles, sight 20-point-plus games, and 24 double-digit scoring efforts to her credit.
Lenahan, meanwhile, who was under the weather and unavailable vs. LIU on Saturday, was 6-of-8 overall from the floor this afternoon, in addition to dishing out four assists. Overall, the sharp-shooting 5-11 South Jersey native is up to 9.9 points per game and 3.1 assists per outing. Like Clark, Lenahan's numbers are even better in NEC play as he conference scoring average is 15.2 points per game, to go with 3.4 rebounds a clip.
Trailing by a count of 10-9 midway through the first quarter, Wagner embarked on a 21-7 run over the next seven minutes, bridging the first and second quarters, in opening that 13-point bulge, 30-17, with 7:13 remaining in the half.
The Terriers countered by closing the stanza by outscoring the Seahawks 16-9 to get back within striking distance at the intermission.
SFBK opened the second half on a quick 6-0 spurt, with the last four coming on consecutive jumpers by Abby Anderson, to tie the game at 39-39 at the 7:31 mark of the third, necessitating a Seahawk timeout.
The rest of the third quarter was back and forth as the teams were tied on three more occasions. Amy O'Neill's free throw with one second left on the clock enabled St. Francis to take a slim 57-56 lead into the fourth.
Wagner took its final lead of the game, at 60-59, on a jumper by junior guard
Nakylia Carter with 8:47 remaining in the game. The Terriers then went on a pivotal 10-0 run, capped by an Alex Delaney three-pointer, in building their biggest lead of the game, a nine-point, 69-60 advantage with 5:22 to play.
The Seahawks fought back with an 8-2 run, capped by a Lenahan three-pointer with 1:39 to make, to make it a three-point game at 71-68. SFNY was able to knock down six free throws down the stretch in holding on for the 80-76 win.
In addition to the play of Clark and Lenahan, another bright spot for Wagner was the continued production from Carter, who recorded career highs with 10 points and eight assists. Together with her then career-high nine-point, four assist game on Saturday vs. LIU, the junior college transfer from Oklahoma is averaging 9.5 points and 6.0 assists in her last two games.
The Green & White were without the services of two key seniors, in guard
Tanasia Russell and forward
Samantha Sullivan, each of whom incurred injuries during Saturday's LIU game.
Jade Johnson paced St. Francis with 21 points to lead four players in double figures. Delaney and Maria Palarino added 16 and 14 points, respectively, while O'Neill finished with 10.
The Seahawks return home to the Spiro Sports Center for two straight games, beginning on Saturday, January 20 with a 1:00 p.m. matchup vs. Robert Morris on Alumni Day. Following this game, the Wagner and RMU men's teams will square off at 4:00 p.m. The Seahawks will then wrap up their two-game homestand on Monday, January 22 for a 7:00 p.m. contest vs. Saint Francis U.
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