Women's Basketball | 3/01/19
Staten Island, NY - The Wagner College women's basketball team is set to close out its home regular season schedule this weekend, beginning on Saturday afternoon as the Seahawks welcome Northeast Conference (NEC) leading Robert Morris to the Spiro Sports Center.
The Seahawks, who fell to Bryant on Monday evening (84-69), are looking to snap a seven-game losing streak to the Colonials, as RMU took the first meeting of the season between the two schools, 69-46, back on January 26.
The Green & White will need one more win over the next three games (including Saturday's contest) to ensure themselves of their first .500 season in NEC play since 2003, when the Seahawks finished at 15-13 overall and 10-8 in league tilts.
Inside The Numbers:
- 1260 - Monday's home contest against Bryant University marked the 1,260th overall game played in the history of the women's basketball program (531-729).
- 68 - Through Feb. 26, Wagner ranks 68th (out of 349 schools ranked) in the entire NCAA in three-point field goal percentage, connecting at a 34.0 percent clip.
- 47.8 - The backcourt duo of senior Nakylia Carter and sophomore Alayshia Dailey have accounted for 47.8 percent of Wagner's 364 assists.
- 2 - Only two times this season has Wagner entered halftime with a lead and didn't come out with a victory (@ Robert Morris | 26-25 | Jan. 26 & vs. Bryant | 40-38 | Feb. 25). Wagner is 8-2 this year when leading at the half.
Northeast Conference Women's Basketball Standings (As of 2/25/19)
| Team |
NEC Record |
PCT |
Overall |
Streak |
| 1. Robert Morris * |
14-1 |
.933 |
17-9 |
W3 |
| 2. Sacred Heart * |
11-4 |
.733 |
15-11 |
W2 |
| 3. Saint Francis U * |
10-5 |
.667 |
13-14 |
W1 |
| 4. St. Francis Brooklyn * |
9-6 |
.600 |
15-12 |
L2 |
| 5. WAGNER * |
8-7 |
.533 |
10-16 |
L1 |
| 6. Mount St. Mary's |
7-8 |
.467 |
13-13 |
W1 |
| Bryant * |
7-8 |
.467 |
9-17 |
W3 |
| 8. Central Connecticut |
3-12 |
.200 |
6-19 |
L6 |
| Fairleigh Dickinson |
3-12 |
.200 |
6-20 |
L7 |
| LIU Brooklyn |
3-12 |
.200 |
4-22 |
L1 |
Last Time Out For Wagner:
- 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.
- 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 missed recording a double-double, ending the game with ten points and nine rebounds.
Senior Seahawk Watch:
- Senior point guard, Nakylia Carter, is set to play her final two home regular season contests over the weekend as the Oklahoma City, OK native needs just 19 points for 300 in her two-year Seahawk career while needing just six rebounds for an even 200.
- Additionally, she is 31 assists shy of 200 helpers.
STARTING LINEUP: WAGNER SEAHAWKS
NEC Correspondent, Craig D'Amico, recently featured the Wagner Women's Basketball program for the NEC Overtime Blog... Below is an excerpt of Mr. D'Amico's article. To read the full article, CLICK HERE
"We talk about progress. A lot of progress, a lot of process, getting better in the moment, winning every day, getting one percent better…all of that. In turn, the returners, they know and they remember. We were in a lot of close games (last year) and those moments have not been forgotten...."
....Now in her third season on Grymes Hill, Coach Jacobs' building process is starting to show major results once again. "It's a process that I think is behind the scenes and in the locker room. We knew we were making progress even though last year we didn't really win as many games as we wanted or hoped," said Jacobs. "We knew that there was progress there and whether or not it was player development, in the locker room, the culture, standards, expectation…it was happening and people couldn't see that necessarily."
Inside The Wagner | Robert Morris Series:
- Wagner and Robert Morris will be squaring off for the 66th time with the Colonials holding a 34-31 edge in the all-time head-to-head matchup.
- The Colonials took the first meeting between the two squads, 69-46, in Moon Township back on January 26.
- The Green & White will look to snap a seven-game losing streak to the Colonials, with their last victory coming back on March 2, 2015, in Moon Township, a 66-60 triumph
- Over the last three matchups against RMU, redshirt sophomore Taylah Simmons is averaging 8.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg and 1.0 apg. Classmate Joellen How is the next leading scorer, tallying 7.0 ppg and 1.0 apg. Teammate Khaleah Edwards is netting 5.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg and 1.3 apg in Wagner's last three contests against the Colonials.
- Since 2002, Wagner is just 6-20 against the Colonials.
Seahawk Tidbits:
- The 2018-19 Seahawks are ranked among the top-five in the Northeast Conference (NEC) in nine statistical categories. Wagner is second in both field-goal percentage (2nd | 41.5%), and assists (2nd|14.0 apg).
- The Green & White are among the top-five in: scoring offense (5th, 64.0 ppg), free-throw percentage (4th | 70.7%), three-point field goal percentage (4th | 34.0%), rebounding margin (5th), steals (t-5|8.1 spg), assist-turnover ratio (5th) and defensive rebounding percentage (4th | .674).
- If Wagner picks up one more win over the final three NEC games, the program will ensure themselves of their first. 500 season in conference play since 2003, when the Seahawks finished 15-13 overall and 10-8 in conference play.
- Among the entire NCAA, senior point guard Nakylia Carter ranks 64th out of 248 players ranked (through 2/26/19), in steals per game, averaging 2.3 a contest. Her 60 total steals on the season are ranked 57th in the nation among 148 players with 60. Redshirt sophomore Taylah Simmons ranks 102nd out of 250 players in field-goal percentage, shooting 48.3 percent. Carter, Simmons and sophomore guard, Alayshia Dailey all rank among the top-50 players in their respective years. Simmons is among the top-50 scorers among all sophomores, averaging 15.3 ppg while Carter is among the top-30 seniors in steals, swiping 2.3 a contest. Dailey ranks 38th in the nation among all-second year players in assists, dishing out 3.4 helpers a contest.
- As a whole, the 2018-19 Seahawks are among the top-75 teams in the country in three-point field goal percentage, converting 34.0 percent from the outside. Additionally, the Green & White, out of 349 schools ranked, are among the top-120 in assists per game, dishing out 14.0 a contest.
- In tracking player impacts among all-NEC players, Simmons ranks ninth in the circuit, accounting for 22.1 percent of Wagner's total points, good for ninth among all-league players while ranking sixth in rebounding, corralling 21.5 percent of the team's total rebounds. Sophomore Alayshia Dailey and Carter are fifth and sixth, respectively, as the backcourt duo have combined to dish out 47.8 percent of Wagner's 364 total assists.
- Wagner finished off the month of February with a 5-2 record, going 3-1 at the Spiro Sports Center. Simmons is netting 19.4 ppg and 10.4 rpg for the month while redshirt junior guard, Janelle Mullen, is averaging 12.6 ppg on 53.3 percent shooting from the floor.
- Over the last five games, three Seahawks have averaged double digits, led by Simmons (17.4p, 9.6r), Mullen (13.0 p, 2.8r) and sophomore Khaleah Edwards (12.0p, 2.8r, 51.2%FG, 43.8% 3FG).
Scouting The Robert Morris University Colonials:
- Robert Morris clinched a share of its third consecutive Northeast Conference (NEC) regular-season title after defeating LIU Brooklyn, 71-54, on Monday evening. With a win over their final three contests, the Colonials can win the regular season title outright.
- Nneka Ezeigbo, who was tabbed NEC Player of the Week, led the way for the Colonials on Monday evening with a career-high 30 points on 13-of-20 shooting while grabbing 11 rebounds in posting her sixth double-double of the season.
- Overall, RMU leads the conference in scoring defense (55.2 ppg) and scoring margin (+7.4), despite ranking seventh in the circuit in scoring offense, only averaging 62.6 points per contest. The Colonials are holding its opponents to just 37.2 percent shooting from the field, leading the league.
- Additionally, RMU is averaging 10.4 steals a contest, which ranks first in the conference. The aforementioned Ezeigbo is the lone Colonial scoring in double-figures, averaging 12.0 points per game while pulling down a team-high 7.7 caroms a contest, which is fourth-most among all-conference players. .
Up Next For Wagner:
- Wagner will host the defending Northeast Conference (NEC) champions, the Saint Francis U Red Flash, in the final home game of the 2018-19 regular season in a 7:00 p.m. tip.
- Prior to the start of the game, the Seahawks will recognize their lone senior, Nakylia Carter, in a pre-game ceremony as Monday is Senior Night.
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