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Brooklyn, NY – The Wagner women's basketball team upped its Northeast Conference (NEC) record to 2-1 with a 57-50 road victory at LIU on Thursday evening.
Juniors
Emilija Krista Grava and
Kem Nwabudu each finished in double-figures, with Krista Grava pouring in a game-high 19 points while Nwabudu registered 14 points and corralled eight rebounds in the victory.
Senior
Khaleah Edwards finished with eight points, five of which came in a minute span that swung the momentum in the Seahawks' favor.
Three Sharks placed in double-figures, led by Shyla Sanford, who scored 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field. Aislinn Flynn (11 points, nine rebounds) and Kennedy Taylor (10 points, six rebounds, three steals) rounded out the scoring for the home team.
Inside the Box Score...
- Wagner moves to 2-2 (2-1 NEC) while the LIU Sharks fall to 1-4 (1-4 NEC)
- The Seahawks out-rebounded the Sharks, 40-35
- Wagner converted 19 of its 57 points off 25 LIU turnovers.
- The Seahawks held the Sharks without a three-pointer in the first and third quarters.
- Krista Grava and Nwabudu combined to shoot 54.0 percent for 33 points.
- Alayshia Dailey tied Nwabudu for the team-lead on the boards with eight. She, along with Krista Grava and Marisa Sanchez-Henry dished out a team-high three assists in tonight's win.
How It Happened…
First Quarter
- Edwards got the visitors on the board following a Sanford score as the London, England native was able to dial it up from the outside.
- The Seahawks sparked a 6-0 run to build an early 9-4 lead, capped off by graduate transfer, Kate Tokuhara, who ripped the ball away from LIU's Ryan Weise and went coast-to-coast for the layup.
- Both teams traded a pair of baskets but it was Nwabudu's layup with just 13 seconds left in the quarter that gave the Green & White a 13-10 lead.
Second Quarter
- The Seahawks continued their momentum as LaNiya Miller converted on her first points as a Seahawk with a three off-the-feed from Tokuhara that increased the Wagner advantage to six, 16-10.
- A short 5-0 spurt by the Sharks chipped into Wagner's lead, as Flynn ended the LIU run with a layup that made it 16-15 at the 7:53 mark.
- Coming back from a timeout, the Seahawks strung together an 8-3 run over the next 2:22 in pushing the lead to 24-18 as Krista Grava was able to hit on a jumper from Edwards for her tenth points of the contest.
- Krista Grava added another jumper that increased the lead to five, 26-21 before the home team started to mount a comeback.
- LIU closed out the quarter on an 11-4 run in taking a 34-32 halftime lead. The Sharks converted on 4-of-6 field goals and limited the visitors to just two made field goals over the final 3:18 of the stanza.
Third Quarter
- When play resumed for the second half, LIU added two more points to its run and took a 36-32 lead following a pair of made free throws from Mia Perkins.
- Junior guard Raven Pitt ignited another timely Seahawk run, this one lasting over four minutes and seeing the game knotted up at 40-40, with Krista Grava continuing her scoring prowess.
- With 3:23 left in the quarter, Nwabudu gave Wagner the lead back with a pair of made free throws before a minute later, Flynn answered back with a layup that tied the game up at 42.
- The Sharks took their final lead of the contest at the 1:08 mark, as Flynn was able to hit on the mid-range jumper that made it 44-42.
- The back-and-forth contest was tied once again, this time, it was newcomer Marisa Sanchez-Henry, who hit the game-tying shot with 45 seconds left in the third.
Fourth Quarter
- Senior guard Alayshia Dailey was able to muscle her way to the basket after grabbing a loose ball and promptly banked it in off-the-window and drew the foul which put Wagner ahead for the moment.
- LIU quickly responded on the ensuing possession, as Flynn connected from the outside.
- Both teams went three minutes without a made field goal before Edwards took control.
- The senior combo guard first hit on the baseline jumper, which put Wagner ahead, 49-47, forcing LIU to burn a timeout.
- When play resumed, Wagner capitalized on a Shark miscue, as Dailey was able to locate Edwards, who drained the trifecta, giving the visitors a 52-47 lead with 5:41 left to play.
- Free-throws closed out the ballgame, with Wagner scoring five of the final eight points from the line in securing its second conference victory of the season.
Postgame Interview...
Head Coach Heather Jacobs:
- Opening Statement...
- "Overall, I'm proud of the team's effort defensively. We knew coming in that defense was going to be a huge priority, the tempo of the game, and rebounding… As a group, I thought they locked in. There are things we can clean up, but really proud of their effort."
- On Khaleah Edwards…
- "Khaleah is someone we expect to do a lot on both sides of the ball. The biggest area where she has been consistent has been her leadership… She communicates on-the-floor and that was evident tonight."
- On Emilija Krista Grava and Kem Nwabudu…
- "The more that time goes on, the more that Emilija and Kem are learning to play together. That is going to pay dividends down-the-stretch.
Up Next...
- Wagner and LIU conclude its season series Friday evening with tip-off set for 7:00 p.m. at the Steinberg Wellness Center.
