Photo by Sean Fitzpatrick

Postgame Interview With Head Coach Heather Jacobs

Staten Island, NY –Fifth-year senior forward Sierra Clark recorded her 13th double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while redshirt freshman forward Taylah Simmons added 16 points, which complemented a defensive effort that held LIU Brooklyn to 31.9 percent shooting as the Seahawks defeated the Blackbirds 52-44 in recording their second straight win.  
On the heels of Saturday's 50-47 home victory over St. Francis Brooklyn, Wagner improves to 5-17 on the season and 3-8 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) while the Blackbirds fall to 9-13 overall, 5-6 in league play.
 
After falling behind by an 8-6 count following a first quarter that these teams to shoot a combined 7-for-26, Wagner caught fire at the outset of the second quarter, with a 13-0 run that staked the Seahawks to a 19-8 lead. The 13-0 burst featured 6-of-7 shooting by the Green & White. At the end of the 13-0 run, which came in a span of 5:13, the Blackbirds called a timeout to regroup with 6:17 remaining in the first half.
 
The final six-plus minutes of the half were a virtual deadlock as the Green & White outscored LIU 10-8 in fashioning a 29-19 lead at the intermission.
 
After Drew Winter hit a jumper for LIU to close the deficit to eight at 35-27 with 5:08 left in the third quarter, the Seahawks reeled off a quick 8-0 burst, capped by a Simmons jumper, in taking their biggest lead of the game, a 16-point margin at 43-27.
 
The Blackbirds scored four straight to close the quarter and make it a 43-31 game entering the fourth. LIU Brooklyn made it interesting, getting to within seven points on two occasions, the latter at 49-42 following a Denisha Petty-Evans three-pointer with 2:21 left.
 
In the end, the Seahawks were able to keep LIU at bay, thanks to 3-of-4 shooting from the line, led by Lenahan's 2-for-2 effort with 42 seconds left, as Wagner held on for the 52-44 victory.
 
Deangelique Waithe paced the Blackbirds with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Winter and Petty-Evans added 10 points apiece.
 
Wagner held a sizeable 45-28 edge in the rebounding department, including a particularly one-sided 19-7 advantage on the offensive glass which helped allow Wagner to make 21 of its 58 field goal attempts. Of the 21 made baskets, the Seahawks were credited with an efficient 14 assists. Conversely, LIU took just 47 shots in the game, making 15 of those on just four assists.
 
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 18.5 points and 9.9 rebounds per game overall.
 
In addition to her 13 double-doubles in 22 games played (her 12 double-doubles ranked No. 13 nationally entering tonight), the Maryland native has hit for 20 or more points 11 times, has two 30-point plus games, and 19 double-digit scoring efforts to her credit. In Wagner's 11 NEC games, the graduate student averages 20.4 points and 11.4 rebounds per outing. 
 
In NEC play, Wagner has two other players averaging double figures in Simmons and Lenahan, who check in at 12.7 and 11.1 points per game in conference.
 
The Seahawks now hit the road for two straight games, beginning on Saturday, February 10 when the Green & White travel to New Britain, CT to meet the Sacred Heart University Pioneers in a 1:00 p.m. start at the William H. Pitt Center. Then, on Monday, February 12, Wagner makes the short trek to Hackensack, NJ to meet the Fairleigh Dickinson University Knights in an 8:00 p.m. matchup at Stratis Arena in a game that will be seen live on ESPN 3.

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