Pictured Above: Sophomore
Khaleah Edwards, one of three Seahawks to finish in double figures in today's victory over FDU
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Hackensack, NJ – For the first time since 2014, the Wagner College women's basketball team has clinched a berth in the Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament as the Seahawks completed the season sweep of Fairleigh Dickinson, earning a 60-44 road victory at the Rothman Center on Saturday afternoon.
Wagner improves to 10-15 overall and 8-6 in NEC play, which puts the Seahawks in sole possession of fifth place in the league standings while the Knights, fall to 6-19 overall and 3-11 in conference, which puts them in in a three-way tie with Central Connecticut (6-18; 3-11) and LIU Brooklyn (4-21; 3-11) for the eighth and final playoff spot
"I am extremely proud of this team," commented third-year head coach, Heather Jacobs following today's victory. "We know that there is a lot of basketball left to be played this season and work that needs to be done. Moving forward, we will continue to enjoy each moment ,while remaining in the moment and not straying away from ourselves and our vision."
The Seahawks' eight conference wins are the most program's most since the 2014 season, when the Green and White went 8-10 in league play and 9-21 overall. Wagner's ten overall wins this season are the most since the 2010-11 season, when the Green & White went 12-17 overall (5-13 NEC).
This afternoon, sophomore guard
Khaleah Edwards and redshirt junior guard
Janelle Mullen each netted a game-high of 15 points on a combined 12-of-25 shooting from the floor while the duo also combined to shoot 6-of-16 from three-point range as both made three trifectas in the victory.
Redshirt sophomore
Taylah Simmons was the third Seahawk to finish in double figures, as she netted 11 points in 38 minutes of action. Senior guard
Nakylia Carter came within two points of her first career double-double, concluding the contest with eight points, a team-best 10 caroms (nine defensive rebounds) while dishing out four assists and recording a career-best five steals, in 36 minutes of play.
"Ky (
Nakylia Carter) was tremendous in keeping the group together while leading us on the glass and exhibiting that in scrapping for extra possessions," coach Jacobs commented. "Her leadership in her near two-year career has been exceptional."
Three Knights tallied double digits, led by Natalie Zamora, who poured in a team-high 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field, with all four made field goals coming from three-point range. Madelynn Comly added 11 points on 5-of-14 shooting from the floor while Madison Stanley recorded a double-double, concluding the contest with 10 points and game-high 12 rebounds (ten on the defensive glass).
FDU jumped out an early 4-0 advantage while holding the Seahawks off the scoreboard nearly the first four minutes of the opening quarter before junior forward
Jordan Hobson (5p, 6r, 2a, 22 min) scored the Seahawks first bucket off the feed from Mullen.
From that point, Wagner closed out the first quarter, scoring 14 of the final 21 points in taking a 14-11 lead. The Seahawks were firing on all cylinders after misfiring on its first four shot attempts, finishing the first period converting 6-of-9 from the field, which include a pair of threes as Simmons led the way with four points while Carter and sophomore
Joellen How each had three.
When play resumed for the second quarter, the Green & White opened the stanza on a 10-4 outburst, upping its lead to 24-15, after converting 50.0 percent of its shots over a near four-minute span while holding FDU to just two made field goals. Edwards was the catalyst during this span, scoring eight of the ten points during the run.
The Knights fought back, cutting the Wagner lead to 29-22 lead heading into the halftime break. Wagner, who shot 39.3 percent from the field, struggled early on in the contest to find its range from the outside, converting on just 4-of-15 from the outside. The Seahawks were also outrebounded in the first half, 21-17, but capitalized on FDU's 11 mishaps, turning those into 11 points, eight of which coming off fast break chances.
In the third quarter, FDU closed the gap to a single possession, as they cut the deficit to three, 36-33, in large part to outscoring Wagner, 11-7, over a 5:34 span, that saw the visitors make just two field goals during this run and the Knights hitting on 40.0 percent from the field, led by Zamora, who netted five of the 11 points. The Seahawks regained the momentum in closing the quarter on a 7-2 run of its own in upping the lead to eight, 43-35.
Mullen opened the final quarter with a high-arcing, three-pointer off the feed from Carter as Wagner went back up by double-digits, 46-35 before Peniel M'Bikata brought the lead back to single digits on a tough layup, 46-37, at the 8:49 mark.
It would be the closets the Knights got down-the-stretch, as the Seahawks closed out the contest on a 14-7 run over the final 6:36 in securing its tenth overall victory of the season and eighth league triumph.
For the game, Wagner finished shooting 35.6 percent from the field while converting 31.0 percent from three-point range. The Seahawks defense stifled the Knights, who concluded play shooting 32.7 percent from the floor and just 27.8 percent from the outside, which marked the tenth time this season that the Green & White has limited its opponents to 30.0 percent or fewer shooting from three-point range.
The Seahawks held a slim 39-38 edge on the boards while scoring 17 of its 60 points off 20 FDU turnovers. Wagner also netted 13 points via fast break chances and outscored the Knights bench, 18-5.
Wagner will embark on its final three home regular season contests, beginning on Monday evening, February 25 when the Seahawks welcome Bryant for a 7:00 p.m. tip.
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Wagner Athletics
Women's Basketball:
Head Coach
Heather Jacobs:
