Pictured Above: Redshirt junior guard
Janelle Mullen
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Staten Island, NY – After trailing 39-28 at halftime, the Wagner College women's basketball team closed found themselves trailing by one, 49-48, at the 1:21 mark of the third quarter thanks to a 20-10 run but the Saint Francis U Red Flash limited the Seahawks to just three made field goals in the fourth quarter to hold on for a 67-58 victory on Monday evening.
With the loss, Wagner falls to 10-18 overall and find themselves in a three-way tie for fifth-place in the Northeast Conference (NEC) standings, along with Mount St. Mary's (14-14; 8-9) and Bryant (10-18; 8-9). The Red Flash move to 14-15 overall and are tied for third-place with St. Francis Brooklyn (17-12; 11-6).
The Seahawks will travel to Bryant on Thursday with seeding implications on the line in the regular season finale on Thursday evening in Smithfield, RI.
Prior to the start of this evening's contest, the women's basketball program recognized its lone senior,
Nakylia Carter, in an on-court ceremony as the Oklahoma City, OK native was escorted to the court by her parents.
Redshirt junior guard
Janelle Mullen was one of two Seahawks to finish in double figures, as she netted a new career-high, 21 points, in which she converted 7-of-16 from the floor to go along with a season-high five three-pointers in 29 minutes of play. Redshirt sophomore,
Taylah Simmons, finished with ten points and seven rebounds 28 minutes of action. Carter netted nine points while pulling down a team-leading eight rebounds and dishing out four assists in 39 minutes of action.
Four Red Flash players finished in double figures, led by Jess Kovatch's 15 point outing in which the conference's leading scorer was held to just 6-of-19 shooting from the floor and just 2-of-10 from three-point range. Leah Morrow added 12 points on a 5-of-8 clip from the field.
Courtney Zezza recorded a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds while Karson Swogger finished with ten points. Haley Thomas matched Zezza for the team lead on the board with 11.
SFU raced out to an early 6-0 lead but Wagner responded with three straight buckets to even the score. After trading baskets, the Seahawks took its first lead of the contest thanks to a Mullen jumper that put the Seahawks ahead, 11-9, with 4:04 left in the quarter. The Red Flash took control, closing out the frame on an 11-2 run in taking a 20-13 lead.
Both teams struggled to score in the second quarter before Mullen was able to soar to the goal for the first points of the frame at the 6:52 mark, which made it 20-15. The visitors outscored the Green & White, 19-13, over the final 6:49 in claiming a 39-28 halftime lead. Saint Francis U held a 24-16 edge on the boards for the first half.
Thomas opened the third quarter for the visitors with a layup that extended the lead to 41-28 before the Seahawks mounted their comeback attempt. Wagner staged an 18-6 run over a 5:30 stretch that trimmed the Red Flash lead to 47-46 with 2:39 showing on the third quarter clock, thanks to a Mullen three-pointer.
The Seahawks shot 60.0 percent during this run and fending off the Red Flash, who were just 3-of-9 during this span. Morrow halted Wagner's momentum with a layup that started a 7-2 run of their own as SFU claimed a 54-48 lead heading into the final quarter. The Seahawks shot 42.9 percent from the field and 60.0 percent from three-point range in the third quarter while holding the Red Flash to under 40.0 percent shooting from the floor and just 1-of-7 from long range.
Carter opened the final stanza with a layup off the feed from Mullen that brought the home team to within four, 54-50, before Morrow and Kovatch hit a pair of baskets that brought the lead up to nine, 59-50.
Freshman
Emilija Krista Grava, who tallied eight points and five rebounds on the evening, completed the traditional three-point play that chipped the lead to six with 5:59 left to go in the game. It wound up being the closets Wagner got as SFU closed the game scoring eight of the final 13 points in securing the nine-point victory.
For the game, Wagner was held to 36.1 percent shooting from the field and below 30.0 percent from the outside while the Red Flash converted on 40.9 percent of its shots from the field and also was held to under 25.0 percent from three-point range (23.1%).
The Seahawks bench outscored SFU's reserves, 31-16, while SFU tallied 40 of its 67 points from inside the paint and held and 46-33 edge on the boards, which included a 16-9 advantage on the offensive glass.
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Wagner Athletics
Women's Basketball:
Head Coach
Heather Jacobs:
