Pictured Above: Sophomore Khaleah Edwards, who matched her career-high with 19 points against Sacred Heart on Martin Luther King Jr. Day at the Pitt Center (Credit: Dave Saffran)
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Fairfield, CT – The Wagner College women's basketball trailed by as many as 13 points in the fourth quarter and fought back valiantly to trim the deficit to six with 1:38 remaining but it wasn't enough as the Sacred Heart University Pioneers held on to win, 72-64, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day at the Pitt Center.
With the loss, Wagner falls to 5-12 overall and 3-3 in Northeast Conference (NEC) action while the Pioneers improve to 10-7 overall and remain perfect in league contests at 6-0.
Sophomore
Khaleah Edwards led three Seahawks in double figures on the afternoon, as the London, England native matched her career high with 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and shot 5-of-7 from beyond-the-arc in 37 minutes of action. Edwards also led the charge on the glass, corralling seven caroms while recording two steals as well.
Fellow classmate,
Taylah Simmons, who entered play averaging 21.3 ppg over her last three contests, chipped in with 14 points, while converting on 6-of-11 from the floor. Sophomore
Alayshia Dailey added 10 points, to go with five assists in her 35 minutes of action.
Three Pioneers also netted double digits, led by Candice Leatherwood's 20-point, six-rebound effort. Leatherwood also was credited with five assists in her 35 minutes of play. Katherine Haines, who is coming off her first career triple-double against St. Francis Brooklyn, contributed 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting while logging 30 minutes. Adrianne Hagood added 12 points on just 3-of-13 shooting.
Sacred Heart went up by 11, 64-53, with 3:27 remaining in the contest before the Seahawks began to chip into the lead. Simmons made one-of-two from the line before stealing the ball and hitting a baseline jumper, which brought the Pioneers' lead down to eight, 64-56, before Haines pushed Sacred Heart's advantage back to double-figures with 2:57 showing.
Following a foul called on SHU's Allyson Murphy, junior
Jordan Hobson was able to locate Edwards, who continued her torrid shooting from the outside, connecting on the three, which brought Wagner within seven, 66-59, with 2:41 left.
Edwards was again called upon and was rewarded with her 19th point of the contest, as she was able to slice through the paint, virtually uncontested, to make it a 67-61 game with 1:38 remaining in regulation. This would be the closest that the Seahawks would get, however, as Sacred Heart scored five of the last eight points in holding on for the eight-point win.
Wagner found itself trailing 4-0 early on before Simmons was able to put the visitors on the board with a strong move to the hoop. Sacred Heart added a three-pointer from Hagood, to give the Pioneers a five-point lead before Edwards drilled the first of her three trifectas in the first half, cutting the SHU's lead to 7-5.
The Green & White took its first lead off the game, 8-7, as Dailey was able to spot Carter in the right corner as the Oklahoma City, OK native buried the three-pointer with 5:59 left in the opening period. SHU closed out the first quarter on an 8-2 run in regaining the lead at 16-10.
Wagner immediately cut the lead to three to start the second quarter as, once again, Edwards found the range from the outside, before Leatherwood promptly answered back with a three of her own as the two squads began to trade baskets.
Krista Grava was able to convert on a jumper and Dailey hit on a two freebies in bringing the visitors to within two, 21-19, at the 7:21 mark, before Murphy halted the Seahawk's momentum with a layup that pushed the lead back to four, 23-19.
Edwards once again was able to bring the squad to within one, 23-22, at the 6:09 mark after drilling her third trifecta of the contest. The Seahawks regained the lead on the following possession as Hobson buried a long three-pointer, giving the Seahawks a 25-23 edge.
Sacred Heart scored nine of the final 13 points of the quarter in securing a 34-29 halftime lead. Wagner was held to just 35.7 percent from the field despite hitting on 50.0 percent from the outside. Both teams grabbed 16 first-half rebounds while the Pioneers collected 12 of its 34 points from inside the paint in the half.
Wagner opened the third with a statement as Dailey was fouled on her way to the basket that cut the SHU lead to 34-32 before Carter tied it with an acrobatic move and finished with left-handed scoop shot that tied the game at 34 apiece
Freshman Emilija Krista Grava put the visitors ahead with back-to-back jumpers as the Seahawks claimed a 38-34 advantage with 7:09 left in the third.
A 17-5 run by Sacred Heart to close out the third quarter put the Pioneers ahead by six, 51-45, as the Pioneers converted on 50.0 percent shooting during the frame and went to the line ten times as opposed to the Seahawks, who shot well in the stanza (63.6%) but only made three trips to the charity stripe.
For the game, Wagner shot 42.6 percent from the field and hit on 47.1 percent from the outside while turning 17 Pioneer turnovers into 19 points. Sacred Heart, who finished the game shooting 48.9 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from the outside, held a 32-to-26 edge on the glass while scoring 20 of its 72 points on fast break chances.
Wagner will finish its road trip in Western Pennsylvania, beginning on January 26 as the Seahawks square off against Robert Morris before concluding the road swing in Loretto against the defending NEC champions, Saint Francis U, on Monday, January 28.
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Wagner Athletics
Women's Basketball:
Head Coach
Heather Jacobs:
