Women's Basketball | 2/01/19
Staten Island, NY – The Wagner College women's basketball team gears up for a "home-and-home" series with the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds, beginning on Saturday, February 2, with a 1:00 p.m. tip at the Spiro Sports Center. These two teams will renew its series on Saturday, February 9 in a 2:00 p.m. tip in Brooklyn.
Wagner is looking to get back in the win column after dropping its third straight contest at defending Northeast Conference (NEC) champion Saint Francis U, 107-70, on Monday evening. LIU Brooklyn is in search of its first league victory of the season after falling to Central Connecticut, 63-57, at home.
The Green & White are looking for back-to-back wins over its Brooklyn rival after defeating the Blackbirds, 52-44, back on February 5, 2018, at the Spiro Sports Center. The win snapped a six-game LIU Brooklyn win streak over the Seahawks, as LIU took the first meeting last year, 74-69, on January 13, 2018.
Inside The Numbers:
- 97 - The most points Wagner has scored against LIU Brooklyn in their all-time matchups, as the Seahawks defeated the Blackbirds, 97-67, back on January 7, 1986 in Brooklyn.
- 88 - Wagner and LIU Brooklyn are meeting for the 88th time in school history with the Blackbirds holding a 44-43 edge in the head-to-head series.
- 68.4 - Amount of points Wagner averaged for the month of January, which marks the highest scoring averaging this season by month (November - 56.4 ppg | December - 59.0 ppg | January - 68.4 ppg).
- 11 - Redshirt sophomore Taylah Simmons has scored in double figures in 11 of her last 12 games and has scored in double digits in every conference game thus far (averaging 17.9 ppg through eight NEC contests).
Last Time Out For Wagner:
- Four Seahawks scored in double figures, led by redshirt sophomore Taylah Simmons' team-high 19, but defending NEC champion Saint Francis U jumped out to an early lead en route to posting a 107-70 win over Wagner at DeGol Arena on Monday.
- After being held scoreless in the first quarter, Simmons netted 13 of her 19 points in the second quarter, converting on 6-of-7 from the field in ten minutes of play. For the game, the Melbourne, Australia native hit on 9-of-14 from the floor in a total of 32 minutes of action.
- Sophomore guard Alayshia Dailey filled up the stat sheet for the visitors, as she concluded the contest with 15 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and hitting on 7-of-8 from the free throw in 35 minutes of play. Dailey dished out a team-high seven assists, the seventh time this season that she has recorded five or more helpers in a game, and the fourth time in the last five contest. She also grabbed a team-leading six rebounds while recording a steal and a block in the contest.
- Freshman forward, Enas Nigatu, who made her first collegiate start in tonight's contest, netted a career-high 12 points on an efficient 5-of-6 shooting from the floor in 19 minutes of action. The first-year Seahawk also grabbed four rebounds, two steals and recorded a block. Junior forward Jordan Hobson rounded out the scoring for Wagner with ten points in 21 minutes off the bench.
- Saint Francis U was led by Jessica Kovatch, the NEC's all-time leading scorer, who she scored 30 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field, while hitting on 60.0 percent from three-point range in 34 minutes of play. Courtney Zezza added 15 points while Haley Thomas contributed 14 points and a team-best seven rebounds in her 24 minutes of action.
Inside The Wagner | LIU Brooklyn Series:
- Wagner and LIU Brooklyn, who will squaring off on consecutive Saturday's, will be meeting for the 88th in program history this afternoon, with the Blackbirds holding a slim, 44-43, edge in the head-to-head matchups.
- The Seahawks and Blackbirds split the season series last year, with each team winning on its home court. In the first matchup, back on January 13 in Brooklyn, Sierra Clark and Taylah Simmons netted double figures, led by Clark's 34 point, 10 rebound outing while Simmons added 15 points and eight rebounds despite Wagner falling 74-69.
- In the final meeting on Staten Island, both Clark and Simmons powered the Green & White offense, with Clark netting 19 points and grabbing 11 rebounds while Simmons added 16 points in 34 minutes as Wagner secured a 52-44 victory.
- The victory snapped a LIU Brooklyn six-game winning streak against Wagner, but the Blackbirds are 18-6 against the Green & White since 2002.
Seahawk Tidbits:
- Through eight league games, the Seahawks rank first in conference-only games in field goal percentage, shooting the ball at a 46.3 percent clip and are fifth in three-point field goal percentage, converting on 32.2 percent. The Green & White is the top assist team in league-play, dishing out close to 16.0 apg and are tied for fourth in steals, nearly swiping eight a contest.
- Overall, the Green & White are second in the circuit in FG%, shooting 41.2 percent from the floor, while placing second in assists at (13.5 apg) and fifth in steals (7.9 spg).
- Individually, redshirt sophomore, Taylah Simmons, ranks fifth in scoring in league-only games, averaging 17.9 ppg and overall for the 2018-19 season, Simmons is tallying 13.6 ppg, good for eighth.
- Additionally, Wagner has four players among the top-20 in league-only scoring, as freshman Emilijja Krista Grava is 12th (12.3 ppg), sophomore Khaleah Edwards is 17th, tallying 10.5 ppg and fellow classmate, Alayshia Dailey ranks 20th at 10.1 ppg.
- Dailey and senior guard, Nakylia Carter rank among the top-five overall in assists, with Dailey dishing out 3.5 a contest, good for third in the league while Carter is fifth at 3.0 apg. Carter trails Fairleigh Dickinson's Natalie Zamora for the top spot in steals, as Carter is averaging 2.3 a game while Zamora is swiping 2.4 a contest.
- Over Wagner's last five games (2-3), four Seahawks have averaged in double figures in scoring: Simmons (19.2 ppg), Krista Grava (14.7 ppg), Dailey (10.2 ppg) and Edwards (10.0 ppg). Dailey is averaging 6.2 helpers over this stretch while Edwards is pulling down a team-best 5.8 rpg over the last five games.
- Wagner is 3-4 on the season playing at the Spiro Sports Center, as the Seahawks are averaging 63.0 ppg while Simmons leads the way with 14.0 ppg and 6.1 rpg. Carter has dished out 3.9 apg at home, followed by Dailey, who has chipped in 3.7 apg.
Scouting The LIU Brooklyn:
- The Blackbirds, who were predicted to finish seventh in the conference, are looking for their first NEC win, as well as their first win since defeating Lafayette, 55-50, back on December 29 in Brooklyn.
- Jeydah Johnson and Brandy Thomas lead the Blackbirds in scoring, with Johnson pouring in 13.8 ppg and collecting 4.2 rebounds a contest while Thomas, the conference's second-leading freshman scorer at 11.7 ppg, has grabbed a team-high 9.0 rebounds a game, good for first among all newcomers and second among all-league players.
- The Blackbirds come into Saturday's contest averaging 53.1 ppg, while shooting 34.0 percent from the field and being held to just 28.0 percent shooting from the outside.
- On Monday, LIU Brooklyn narrowly halted its losing streak, as their second half comeback was thwarted by Central Connecticut, 63-57.
- Johnson led the way for LIU Brooklyn with 15 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Tia Montagne, who is the team's third leading scorer at 6.6 ppg, finished with 12 points.
Up Next For Wagner:
- These teams will meet again on Saturday, February 9, as the venue switches to the Steinberg Wellness Center in Brooklyn. Tipoff is slated for 2:00 p.m.
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