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Moon Township, PA - Down by 13 points at the end of the third quarter, the Wagner women's basketball team battled the defending Northeast Conference (NEC) champions, Robert Morris, to the wire after cutting the Colonials lead to a single possession, 47-45, with 1:21 left in regulation, but the comeback attempt was halted as the Seahawks were edged, 51-47, at the UPMC Events Center.
Junior
Khaleah Edwards was the lone Seahawk in double figures, as the London, England native tallied 11 points while grabbing five rebounds in 34 minutes of action.
Sophomore forward
Emilija Krista Grava netted eight points while freshman guard
Alex Cowan added seven points and matched Edwards with a team-high five boards. Junior guard
Alayshia Dailey, who made the two free-throws that brought Wagner to within a single possession of tying the game, finished with six points and four assists.
The Colonials were paced by Irekpitan Ozzy-Momodu, who scored a game-high 13 points on a 4-for-6 performance from the floor and hitting on 5-of-7 from the free-throw line. She added eight rebounds and two blocks in her 20 minutes off-the-bench. Isabella Posset came within a point of recording a double-double, ending the game with 10 points and nine caroms in 31 minutes of play.
Nneka Ezeigbo, who came into today's contest as the newly-minted Player of the Week after averaging 15.4 ppg, was stifled and swarmed by the Seahawk defense all afternoon, finishing with just one point, which came on a 1-of-4 showing from the free-throw line. Ezeigbo hit her average on the boards, finishing with seven in just 19 minutes of action.
The Basics
- Records: Wagner (4-10; 0-3 NEC) | Robert Morris (8-6; 3-0 NEC)
- Series History: Robert Morris now leads the head-to-head series, 36-31.
How It Happened:
First Quarter
- Senior Jordan Hobson got the Seahawks on the board first, burying a three on Wagner's first possession of the contest.
- RMU quickly responded in the form of a 10-0 run over the next four minutes after Honoka Ikematsu hit from the outside.
- Dailey was able to stop the run for the visitors, as she muscled her way inside for two that made it 10-5 with 4:25 remaining in the period.
- A short 6-0 run increased the lead to nine, 16-7 after Ozzy-Momodu hit the backend of a two-shot foul for RMU.
- Wagner scored the last three baskets to close the gap to 16-13, as freshman Katrice Jackson hit on a contested layup in-the-paint.
Second Quarter
- Krista Grava hit on the visitors' first possession of the second quarter, which brought Wagner to within one, 16-15, in the opening minutes.
- Posset's three-pointer pushed the RMU advantage to four before both teams went on a scoring drought that lasted nearly four and a half minutes.
- Ikematsu hit on her second long-range shot of the afternoon, giving Robert Morris a 22-15 edge before redshirt senior Janelle Mullen answered with a trifecta of her own.
- Nina Augustin's bucket with 4:00 minutes left in the half ignited a 7-2 run that the Colonials used to take a 29-20 lead into the break.
Third Quarter
- As play resumed for the second half, the Green & White ran off seven straight points coming out of the intermission, cutting the lead down to 29-27 as the Seahawks hit on their first three shots, with Edwards leading the way with five points during that span.
- RMU took its largest lead of the game, 42-29, on the heels of a 13-2 run in which the Colonials went 6-of-7 shooting from the field, holding the visitors to just one made field goal over the near six-minute stretch.
Fourth Quarter
- Facing a 44-31 deficit, the tenacious Seahawks began to mount their comeback.
- Krista Grava hit on a pair of jumpers that started Wagner's climb back in this contest.
- Cowan was able to convert on the traditional three-point play from the line that made it 44-38 with 4:14 showing on the game clock.
- The relentless Seahawks continue to fight back, as Dailey made it a five-point game with 3:52 after she hit from the line after drawing the foul Posset and making the tough-angled layup.
- Ozzy-Momodu calmly sank a pair from the line that pushed the lead to 47-40.
- Wagner had an answer, as Hobson connected from just in front of her teammates off the feed from Dailey that narrowed the lead to 47-43, and forced Robert Morris to call for time.
- Dailey, once again, stepped to the line and made both shots, as the Seahawks were now down two, 47-45, with 1:21 left in regulation.
- After corralling the loose ball on a missed three from Ikematsu, Natalie Villafor made the most of her chance at the free-throw line, which increased the RMU advantage once again.
- Burning a full-time out, Edwards was able to get past her defender on her way to goal and put up a left-handed layup that made the game 49-47.
- Posset virtually sealed the game after hitting a pair from the line, giving the home team a 51-47 lead.
- With just 0.03 remaining, Edwards tried to draw contact on Colonial on her three-point attempt from the right of the top-of-the-key, but her change hit the backboard as Robert Morris held on for the win.
Inside The Numbers
- The Seahawks outscored Robert Morris, 16-7, in the fourth quarter, while not allowing the defending league champions to make a field goal, as the Colonials went 0 for 10 from the field and 0 of 5 from three-point range in the final quarter.
- The Seahawks were out-muscled the Colonials, 34-28 on the glass.
- Wagner didn't attempt a single free-throw in the first half of play despite going perfect for the game (7-of-7), which was a stark contrast to Robert Morris, who hit on 13 of 18 from the line, including 7 of 10 in the final period.
- The last time Wagner lost a contest by five points or less was back on March 7, 2019, as the Seahawks fell to Bryant, 76-73.
Up Next:
- Wagner closes out its two-game tour of Western Pennsylvania on Monday, January 13, as the Seahawks take on Saint Francis U.
- Tipoff from DeGol Arena is set for 7:00 pm and will be streamed on NEC Front Row.
