Pictured Above: Redshirt sophomore Taylah Simmons, who finished with a career-high 28 points in Wagner's victory over Mount St. Mary's (Credit: Dave Saffran)
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Staten Island, NY – The Wagner College women's basketball team raced out to a 25-7 lead after the first quarter against the Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers and hung on for a 92-76 win on Saturday afternoon at the Spiro Sports Center. With the win, Wagner improves to 5-11 overall and 3-2 in Northeast Conference (NEC) play, while the Mountaineers fall to 7-9 overall and 1-4 in league contest.
The 92 points scored this afternoon by Wagner marks the first time they have done so since defeating Columbia University, 97-86, back on December 30, 2014. Additionally, Wagner moves to 3-2 over the first five games of the conference slate for the first time since the 2003-04 season
| 12/13/2003 |
vs. Sacred Heart |
Won, 72-62 |
| 1/8/2004 |
@ Fairleigh Dickinson |
Won, 70-64 |
| 1/10/2004 |
vs. Monmouth |
Lost, 77-60 |
| 1/13/2004 |
@ Sacred Heart |
Lost, 70-56 |
| 1/15/2004 |
@ Mount St. Mary's |
Won, 75-72 |
| 1/5/2019 |
@ St. Francis Brooklyn |
Lost, 76-61 |
| 1/7/2019 |
@ Central Connecticut |
Won, 75-63 |
| 1/12/2019 |
vs. Sacred Heart |
Lost, 80-68 |
| 1/14/2019 |
vs. Fairleigh Dickinson |
Won, 71-59 |
| 1/19/2019 |
vs. Mount St. Mary's |
Won, 92-76 |
Five Seahawks scored in double figures for the third time this season, led by redshirt sophomore forward,
Taylah Simmons, who poured in a career-high 28 points in 26 minutes on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor, which included a career-best 10-of-13 clip at the charity stripe. For Simmons, this afternoon's performance marks the second straight 20 or more point effort, as she recorded 20 against Fairleigh Dickinson on Monday evening at home. The Melbourne, Australia native also added seven rebounds and three steals.
Joining Simmons, freshman
Emilija Krista Grava chipped in 17 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the floor while grabbing seven caroms and rejecting three shots in her 29 minutes of action. Senior guard
Nakylia Carter contributed 14 points and four steals in 32 minutes of play.Sophomores
Alayshia Dailey and
Khaleah Edwards each tallied ten points apiece, with Dailey dishing out a career-high 11 helpers in 38 minutes of play. Dailey's 11 assists are the most in game since former Seahawk standout, Jasmine Nwajei, dished out 10 against NJIT back on December 2, 2015. For Edwards, grabbed a team-high eight rebounds in her 35 minutes. The Seahawks are now 3-0 in games when five or more players have scored in double-figures.
Mount St. Mary's also had five players score in double digits, led by Michaela Harrison's 16 points. Jatarrikah Settle finished with a double-double as well, scoring 15 points and grabbing a game-best 10 caroms in 38 minutes. Rebecca Lee added 13 points while Juliette Lawless, who entered as the third leading scorer in the conference, finished with 12 points in 16 minutes. Alexis Wooden contributed 11 points off-the-bench.
The Mountaineers took its only lead of the contest at the 9:11 mark of the first quarter after Lawless was able to convert on the traditional three-point play. From there, Wagner seized the momentum, sparking a 9-0 run that gave the Green & White an 11-3 lead before Lee stopped the run with a layup at 5:59. After trading baskets, Wagner closed out the first quarter on a 12-0 run as the Seahawks held a 25-7 advantage as Simmons tallied 14 of Wagner's 25 points on a perfect 5-of-5 start.
The Seahawks continued to fire on all cylinders, opening the second quarter with seven straight points that propelled the lead to 31-7, as Krista Grava was able to hit on the mid-range jumper. Settle put a halt in the run by converting the three-point play with 6:09 left to go before intermission. Wagner found themselves leading by 21, 40-19, with 2:20 left in the second after Dailey was able to muscle home two off a strong drive to hoop. After trading the final eight points of the quarter, the Seahawks entered the break holding a 44-23 lead as they converted on 62.1 percent from the field in the first half while holding a 17-12 edged on the glass.
Wagner opened the second half by building its largest lead of the contest, 58-25, thanks to a 14-2 run over a two minute stretch in which the Seahawks limited the Mountaineers to just one made field in three chances while hitting on five of its first seven opportunities in taking a 33-point lead. Mount St. Mary's fought back, outscoring Wagner 28-11, over the final 6:42 in the third quarter as the Green & White were leading, 69-53. The Mountaineers were connecting from the outside during this run (4-of-6 from three) while shooting 70.0 percent over this outburst while Wagner was held to just two made field goals.
In the fourth, Mount St. Mary's continued its comeback attempt, trimming the Seahawk lead to just eight, 78-70, with three minutes to go on the strength of a 17-9 outburst as Harrison was the catalyst with nine points on this run. Wagner was able regroup and closed out the game scoring 14 of the game's final 20 points in holding on for the Seahawks third conference victory.
For the game, Wagner shot 51.6 percent from the floor while hitting on close to 40.0 percent from the outside (5-of-13). The Seahawks nearly scored half of its points from inside the paint, outscoring Mount, 44-28. Wagner outmuscled the visitors, 40-31, on the glass, which included a 24-19 on the defensive end. Mount St. Mary's got 29 points from its bench, while shooting 41.4 percent overall for the game.
The Seahawks will look for its third-straight win on Monday, January 21 as they will embark on a three-game road trip, beginning at Sacred Heart. Tipoff is set for 1:00 p.m. on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
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Wagner Athletics
Women's Basketball:
Head Coach
Heather Jacobs:
