Pictured Above: Sophomore wing
Khaleah Edwards
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Staten Island, NY – Leading 40-38 at halftime, the Wagner College women's basketball team was outscored 17-9 in the third quarter before outscoring the Bryant University Bulldogs, 18-15, over a 6:19 minute stretch in the fourth to bring the deficit down to three, 70-67, but it wasn't enough as the Bulldogs closed out the contest on a 14-2 run in claiming a 84-69 win on Monday evening.
With tonight's setback, the Green & White falls to 10-16 overall and 8-7 in Northeast Conference (NEC) play. The Seahawks remain in fifth place in the league standings while the Bulldogs, who move to 9-17 overall and 7-8 in conference tilts, move into a tie with Mount St. Mary's for sixth place, a game behind Wagner.
Three Seahawks finished in double figures, led by redshirt sophomore
Taylah Simmons, who led the squad with 21 points and fell one rebound shy of her ninth career double-double, as she grabbed a team-high nine caroms in 38 minutes of action.
Sophomore wing
Khaleah Edwards netted 18 points, on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor, highlighted by a 4-of-6 marksmanship from beyond-the-arc. 11 of Edwards' 18 points came in the fourth quarter, which included her final trifecta of the evening that brought the Seahawks to within three, 70-67, with 3:35 left in the contest.
Redshirt junior guard
Janelle Mullen was the third Seahawk in double digits as the Ozone Park, NY native tallied 12 points, ten of which coming in the first half and seven points alone coming in the second quarter. Redshirt sophomore guard,
Joellen How, chipped in eight points in 15 minutes of play.
Naomi Ashley led all scorers with a game-high 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the floor, which included a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line while playing 39 minutes. She also notched a game-high five assists and four steals in the Bulldog victory. Sydney Holloway added 18 points and five rebounds while Brooke Bjelko narrowly recorded a double-double, ending the game with ten points and nine rebounds.
Bryant led 57-49 in the early stages of the fourth quarter before the Bulldogs scored nine of the next 14 points in building a ten-point advantage, 66-56, with 6:45 left to play. It was there that Edwards found her rhythm and led the charge in Wagner's comeback attempt, as she scored all 11 points during the Seahawks 11-4 run that cut the deficit to three as the second-year Seahawks went 4-of-5 from the field while drilling a trio of threes.
Holloway put an end to Wagner's run with difficult scoop layup that brought the lead back to five, 72-67, and ignited the 14-2 run to close the contest and clinch a playoff spot for the Bulldogs.
After trading opening buckets, Mullen drilled a high-arching three-pointer that put the Seahawks ahead, 5-3. Both teams played to a virtual stalemate in the opening frame, before the Bulldogs took a 21-20 lead at the end of the first quarter, thanks to an Ashley layup with 18 seconds showing on the game clock. In the second quarter, Wagner took its largest lead of the contest, 28-22, as Mullen connected on another three-pointer off the feed from senior point guard,
Nakylia Carter. The Bulldogs closed out the frame outscoring the Seahawks, 16-12, over the final 6:32, with Wagner holding on to a 40-38 halftime lead.
For the opening half, both teams shot the ball extremely well, with the Seahawks converting on 57.1 percent of its field goals to Bryant's 50.0 percent. The Green & White held an 18-16 scoring advantage from inside the paint while the Bulldogs capitalized on second chance points (11-5). Simmons and Mullen combined to score 23 of Wagner's 40 points on a collective 10-of-14 shooting from the field.
The momentum swung in favor of the visitors. Following a pair of made free throws from Kierra Palmer, Bryant outscored Wagner, 9-4, over a four minute span which was a part of the larger 17-9 outburst in securing a 55-49 advantage for the visitors. Bryant held Wagner to just 16.7 percent shooting in the third quarter and just one made three-pointer for the period (1-of-5).
For the game, Wagner shot 44.8 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from three-point range. The Bulldogs, however, converted on 50.0 percent from the floor (32-of-64), with 50 of its 84 points coming from inside-the-paint. Bryant also held a 35-31 advantage on the boards and a 20-9 margin on second-chance points.
Wagner will remain at home this upcoming weekend, as the Seahawks host conference leaders, Robert Morris, on Saturday, March 2. Tipoff is slated for 1:00 p.m.
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Wagner Athletics
Women's Basketball:
Head Coach
Heather Jacobs:
