Pictured Above: Redshirt sophomore Taylah Simmons, who poured in a team-best 16 points against Sacred Heart on Saturday afternoon (Credit: Dave Saffran)
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Staten Island, NY – The Wagner College women's basketball team dropped an 80-68 decision on Saturday afternoon to the Sacred Heart University Pioneers in Northeast Conference (NEC) action at the Spiro Sports Center.
With the loss, the Seahawks dips to 3-11 overall and 1-2 in league contests while the Pioneers hit the .500 mark at 7-7 overall while remaining undefeated in conference tilts at 3-0.
Three Seahawks finished the ballgame scoring in double figures, led by redshirt sophomore forward,
Taylah Simmons, who poured in 16 points to go along with a team-leading eight rebounds in 33 minutes of action. For Simmons, it marks her fourth straight game scoring in double digits and the sixth time she has done so in her last seven games.
Senior guard
Nakylia Carter and freshman forward
Emilija Krista Grava each added 14 points on a combined 11-of-23 shooting from the field. Carter dished out a game-high six assists, the third time in her last four games that she has dished out five or more helpers to go along with five rebounds while playing the full forty.
Krista Grava reached double figures for the fourth time in her last five games as she added seven rebounds while rejecting two shots in her 30 minutes of action. Sophomore
Khaleah Edwards contributed nine points while
Alayshia Dailey contributed six.
Katherine Haines led four Pioneers in scoring on the afternoon, rattling in a game-best 22 points while also pulling down a game-high 13 rebounds in the victory. Haines also had four blocks in her 34 minutes of play. Candice Leatherwood netted 20 points on just 2-of-6 shooting from the floor, but got the majority of her points from the free throw line, converting 15-of-17 from the charity stripe.
Adrianne Hagood and Oliva Dabney also notched double digit performances, scoring 16 and 13, respectively on a collective 10-of-19 shooting from the field, which included a combined 5-of-9 display from the outside.
Sacred Heart raced out to an early 14-4 lead after going 4-of-7 from the field in the opening five minutes of the first quarter. Wagner was held to just a two made field goals over the first five minutes. Carter halted the visitors run with a three-pointer, which in turn, ignited an 8-2 run for the Seahawks over the quarter's final 2:14 as the home team found themselves trailing 16-12.
To open the second quarter, Carter was the catalyst for the Seahawks, as was able to drive from the top-of-the key and bank one home just as the shot clock horn sounded and in the process drew the foul on Leatherwood, which cut SHU's lead to 16-15. Dabney rattled home a three-pointer off the feed from Allyson Murphy to put Sacred Heart ahead 19-15, before the Green & White rallied back.
Back-to-back buckets from Krista Grava and Simmons evened the game up at 19 before Edwards was able to dial one up from long range, giving the Seahawks its first lead since the 9:06 mark of the first quarter in which Wagner led, 2-0.
This series was part of an 11-2 Seahawk outburst, in which Wagner held the Pioneers with a field goal in four chances over a three and a half minute stretch. SHU's Erin Storck's layup put a stop in the run as the Pioneers trailed 26-23 with 2:17 left before halftime. Sacred Heart closed out the final two minutes on a 7-2 run in taking a 30-28 halftime lead.
For the half, Wagner scored 16 of its 28 points from inside the paint while holding a 22-18 advantage on the boards. The Pioneers were able to convert on the fast break, scoring eight points on the run. Wagner shot 36.4 percent from the floor in the first half, 53.8 percent in the second quarter alone.
The third quarter commenced with an Edwards three-pointer, which put Wagner ahead 31-30. Hagood was able to tie the ballgame up at 33 apiece, as from that point, the Pioneers outscored Wagner, 22-13, over the near eight-minute run and held a 53-46 lead.
Sacred Heart hit on two straight three-pointers that increased the lead to 59-46 at the 8:25 mark of the fourth. Wagner wouldn't back done, as the home team sparked a 10-4 run over the next four minutes to cut the deficit to seven, 63-56, as Edwards once again was good from the outside.
The Seahawks continued to claw its way back into the contest, again bringing the SHU lead to single-digits, after Simmons was able to put in the layup chance with sixty-six seconds left in the game. Sacred Heart scored seven of the game's final 11 points to remain undefeated in NEC-play.
For the contest, Wagner shot 46.7 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from the outside while holding a slim 36-34 edge on the glass. The Seahawks scored 40 of its 68 points from inside-the-paint. The Pioneers, who converted at 40.7 percent clip from the floor, capitalized on 15 Seahawk turnovers, which resulted into 16 points for the visitors. SHU got 17 points from its bench while also taking advantage of second chance points, outscoring Wagner, 18-14, in that department.
The Seahawks close out week two of league action on Monday night, as Wagner hosts Fairleigh Dickinson at 7:00 p.m.
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Wagner Athletics
Women's Basketball:
Head Coach
Heather Jacobs:
