Jersey City, NJ – The Wagner College women's basketball team dropped its first contest of the 2021-22 season, falling to the Saint Peter's University Peacocks 66-57, on Wednesday evening at Run Baby Run Arena.
Wagner (1-1) was paced by senior guard
Zhaneia Thybulle, who poured in a team-leading 14 points. The Elmont, NY native filled the stat sheet for the second straight game, pulling down nine rebounds, seven coming on the defensive end while dishing out four assists and adding two steals.
Kem Nwabudu,
Drayah Heyward and
Alex Cowan chipped in eight points apiece.
Emilija Krista Grava was held to only seven points but did grab a team-high 11 rebounds.
Saint Peter's (1-2) had two players in double-figures, led by Kassondra Brown, who led all scorers with 22 points and recorded 16 rebounds. Binta Salawu added 17 points and three steals. Sky Castro joined Brown with double-digit rebounds, concluding the contest with 12.
"
I have to do a better job getting our young women prepared," said head coach
Terrell Coburn. "
I give a lot of credit to Saint Peter's. They played hard. Having two players grab double-digit rebounds, a collective 14 offensive rebounds, they just outworked us from both sides of the ball."
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE…
- Wagner was outrebounded in the contest, 47-37.
- Free-throws played a pivotal role in the contest, as Wagner converted on 6 of 10 from the charity stripe while Saint Peter's drew 25 fouls and hit on 31 of 37 from the free-throw line, led by Brown, who went 10 of 11 en route to her game-high 22 points.
- The Green and White did outscore the home team 28-22 from inside the paint but the Peacocks turned in 21 points off 19 Wagner turnovers.
- For the second straight game, Wagner's defense held the opponent to under 30.0 percent shooting from the floor, as Saint Peter's only hit on 3 of 14 from the outside (21.4 percent).
HOW IT HAPPENED…
First Quarter…
- Both teams couldn't find their momentum early in the contest as the two clubs went a combined 7 of 34 from the field as Saint Peters held a 11-10 lead after the first quarter.
- Midway through the opening frame, Krista Grava was able to come away from the scrum with the loose ball and find Lina Loceniece, who was able to take to the hoop and draw the foul, giving Wagner a slim 8-7 advantage.
- Brown knocked the down the second chance bucket in the paint, that gave Saint Peter's an 11-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Second Quarter…
- Salawu opened the second quarter hitting one of two from the line, that gave SPU a 12-10 advantage before the Seahawks seized control of the tempo of the quarter.
- Wagner embarked on a 10-4 run over the next four minutes that saw the lead swing in their favor, 20-16, as Nwabudu capped off the run with a mid-range jumper.
- The Peacocks responded with a 9-4 run of their own to close the half, as Rachel Kuhl hit all three of her free throw attempts as the game was knotted at 25 heading into the intermission.
Third Quarter…
- Heyward commenced the third quarter with a steal and finished with the layup on the fast break.
- The two teams traded baskets until the 7:12 mark, when Thybulle broke the tie with a layup after stealing the ball away from Brown.
- From that point, it was Saint Peter's who outscored the Seahawks, 12-7, over the next 5:40 in taking a 41-38 lead as Kailia Dawkins hit from the free-throw line.
- Wagner closed out the quarter with baskets from Heyward and Alex Cowan, who converted an underhand scoop layup as the visitors regained the lead, 42-41 heading into the final quarter.
Fourth Quarter…
- Thybulle got the scoring going for the Seahawks in the fourth, as Wagner went up 44-41.
- Saint Peter's seized control of the momentum, erupting on a 17-6 run over the next 5:24 in building an 58-50 lead before Cowan stopped the run with a three-pointer off the feed from Thybulle.
- The Green & White were able to trim the deficit to four, 58-54, with 2:15 left, but the Peacocks went 6 of 7 down-the-stretch from the free-throw line to preserve the nine-point victory in their first game at Run Baby Run Arena.
Up Next…
- Wagner closes out their three-game road trip to start the season as they pay a visit to Ivy League member, Brown, on Saturday, November 20.
- Tipoff is slated for 4:00 p.m.
