Pictured Above: Redshirt freshman guard Taylah Simmons who hit for a career-high 19 points (photo by Dave Saffran)

Box Score (PDF)

Staten Island, NY – Fifth-year senior forward Sierra Clark poured in 30 points and grabbed 17 rebounds and the Wagner women's basketball team furiously rallied back from an 18-point third-quarter deficit before Saint Francis U was able to hang on for a 79-76 win on Monday night at the Spiro Sports Center.
 
With the loss, the Seahawks fall to 3-16 on the season, 1-7 in Northeast Conference (NEC) play while the Red Flash move to 11-8 overall, 6-1 in league, one game behind first-place Robert Morris (7-0).
 
Tonight's matchup featured a scoring battle between two of the NEC's top players as SFU junior guard Jessica Kovatch hit for a game-high 32 points as she went 9-of-19 from the floor which exactly matched Clark's shooting night.
 
For Clark, a 5-11 forward Sierra Clark from Hughesville, MD, tonight's performance came on the heels of Saturday's 14-point, 18-rebound, nine-block effort vs. Robert Morris. In these last two games, against the top two teams in the NEC that are a combined 13-1 in league play, Clark averaged 22.0 points and 17.5 rebounds.
 
Clark, who was recruited to and played for Wagner head coach Heather Jacobs at Adelphi University where she went on to earn Division II All-American honors last season, is now averaging 18.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. In Wagner's eight NEC games, the graduate student averages 21.4 points and 12.1 rebounds per outing. In 19 games overall, Clark now has 11 double-doubles, nine 20-point-plus games, two 30-point plus games and 26 double-digit scoring efforts to her credit.
 
SFU led 35-28 and, after outscoring Wagner 26-17 in the third quarter, took a seemingly comfortable 61-45 lead heading into the final frame.
 
The Seahawks opened the fourth quarter with a pair of layups from redshirt freshman guard Taylah Simmons, four of her career-high 19 points, which triggered a 13-6 run that sliced the Red Flash lead to 67-62 with 6:01 left.
 
With the Green & White trailing 69-62 with 5:28 left, Clark nearly took over the game, ripping off seven of Wagner's nine points in a 9-2 Seahawks burst over the next 2:22, with her layup at the 3:06 drawing the game even at 71-71.
 
On SFU's next possession, Ace Harrison sank a driving layup from the right side to give the Red Flash a 73-71 lead. A pair of free throws by Kovatch then made it a 75-71 game with 2:15 left before the Seahawks answered with a Clark layup, followed by a pair of free throws by junior guard Nakylia Carter to forge the game's final tie at 75-75.
 
With SFU on top 79-76, Wagner had one last chance to tie by an off-balance three-point attempt by redshirt freshman guard Morgan Lenahan with six seconds left was off the mark and the Red Flash were able to hold on for the win.
 
How dominant was Clark down the stretch of this game? Consider that she nearly recorded a double-double in just the fourth quarter, hitting for 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting over the game's final 10 minutes, as Wagner outscored SFU 31-18 in the final period.
 
Both teams placed three players in double figures as Seahawk freshman guard Khaleah Dixon-Edwards joined Clark and Simmons in double digits with 10 points, two shy of her career high. For SFU, in addition to Kovatch, Kyasia Duling and Courtney Zezza added 13 points each..  
 
Following tonight's game, the Seahawks are next in action on Saturday, January 27 when they travel to Emmitsburg, MD to face Mount St. Mary's in the first of two games vs. the Mountaineers as the return engagement between these teams in Staten Island is set for February 24.

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