Photo above by Dave Saffran. Photo below by Kostas Lymperopoulos
Staten Island, NY – Guard
Tanasia Russell, one of three Wagner women's basketball players honored in a pregame Senior Day ceremony, scored a season-high 16 points to lead four players in double figures as the Seahawks earned a rousing 69-68 victory over Mount St. Mary's.
In snapping a 15-game losing streak vs. the Mountaineers, Wagner improves to 6-21 on the season, 4-12 in Northeast Conference (NEC) play while the Mount falls to 9-18 overall, 6-10 in league play.
The Seahawks raced out to a 32-22 lead with four minutes left in the opening half. The Mountaineers then responded on a 15-3 run to close the half in forging a 37-37 tie at the break. The game was tied again at 51-51 nearing the end of an evenly-played third quarter before Dixon-Edwards buried a three-pointer to beat the buzzer, sending the Seahawks into the fourth and final frame with momentum on its side, and a 54-51 lead on the scoreboard.
Wagner took a 61-55 fourth-quarter lead on a three-pointer by Lenahan with 6:46 left to play. With the Seahawks in front by a 67-64 count, Clark pushed the lead to five at 69-64 with 3:13 to play. Juliette Lawless countered with a layup for the Mount at the 3:02 mark to make it a 69-66 game.
Following a scoreless 2:21 stretch, Katrice Dickson knocked down a jumper to bring the Mountaineers to within one point at 69-68 with just 49 seconds remaining. After Clark missed a three-pointer, the Mount corralled the rebound and called timeout with 10 seconds to go.
With four seconds left, Clark blocked a Lawless layup attempt in the lane and when Jatarrikah Settles' putback was off the mark, Lenahan grabbed the defensive rebound with 0.3 seconds left to seal the win for Wagner.
Wagner held the statistical edge in field goal shooting (47.4%-40.7%), points in the paint (38-36), fast break points (6-2) and bench scoring while the Mount held the upper hand with a 13-6 edge in second-chance points.
Wagner will conclude the regular season with the annual two-game Western, PA swing, beginning with a 7:00 p.m. tip vs. Robert Morris on Friday, March 2 and concluding on Sunday, March 4 at Saint Francis U in a 1:00 p.m. start.
NOTES: In a pre-game ceremony, the Seahawk women's basketball program honored four individuals – graduate Student
Sierra Clark, Senior Guard
Tanasia Russell, Senior Forward
Samantha Sullivan and Student Manager
Alessandra Varrassi.
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