Staten Island, NY – Senior forward
Emilija Krista Grava poured in a game-high 20 points, but, it was a step back jumper from
Zhaneia Thybulle with twelve seconds that put the exclamation point on a 62-59 home win over Big East member, St. John's, on Sunday afternoon from the Spiro Sports Center.
Krista Grava was the lone Seahawk to finish in double-figures, as she converted on 10 of 13 from the field while grabbing a team-leading seven caroms in the win. Thybulle and
Alex Cowan each had nine points with Thybulle dishing out five assists.
The Red Storm had three players score in double-digits, led by Leilani Correa, who finished with 16 points on 3 of 19 shooting from the field and just a 1 of 9 clip from three-point range. Correa scored nine of her 16 from the free-throw line in 39 minutes of play. Danielle Cosgrove and Kadaja Bailey each had 13 points on a combined 7 of 18 shooting from the floor.
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE...
WAGNER-ST. JOHN'S HIGHLIGHTS
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE…
- Today's victory over the Red Storm snapped a 14-game losing streak to St. John's, as Wagner's previous victory over the Queens-based school came back on March 1, 1975 (64-56).
- Wagner was a +10.0 on the boards this afternoon, outrebounding the Red Storm, 37-27, which included a 25-17 edge on the defensive glass.
- The Seahawks scored half of their points from inside the paint, outscoring SJU, 36-18.
- For the eighth straight game, Wagner did not allow an opponent to convert 30.0 percent from the outside, as St. John's finished the game shooting 24.1 percent from three-point range.
- Wagner entered play as the No. 2 ranked three-point field goal percentage defense team, trailing only IUPUI in that department.
- The Seahawks matched the 1983-84 team, coached by Wagner Hall of Famer Gela Mikalauskas, winning seven of their first eight games. That season, the team finished 24-5 and 12-2 in the Cosmopolitan Conference.
- The Green & White moves to 5-0 at the Spiro Sports Center this season, the first time since 1985-86, when under Coach Mikalauskas, Wagner recorded home victories over Concordia/Princeton/Pace/Queens and Hofstra.
- In that season, the team moved that win streak to eight straight before losing to Fairleigh Dickinson on January 28.
- The Red Storm's bench outscored Wagner, 19-13, and capitalized on the fast break with ten points to Wagner's six.
HOW IT HAPPENED…
First Quarter…
- Wagner jumped out to an early 8-2 lead over the first 3:30 of the quarter as the Seahawks hit on 4 of 8 from the start while limiting the visitors to just a 1 of 6, as they got on the board thanks to a Unique Drake driving layup.
- St. John's responded on an 11-4 run of their own, taking their only lead of the contest, 13-12 after Bailey sank a pair from the free-throw line.
- The Seahawks closed out the quarter scoring five of the final six points as the Green & White went ahead, 17-14.
Second Quarter…
- Both teams traded baskets in the early portion of the frame, as St. John's cut the lead down to four, 21-18, thanks to a layup from Emma Nolan.
- Following a missed three-pointer from Drake, Thybulle was able to set up the offense and find Kate Tokuhara, who hit the driving layup, pushing the lead to five, 23-18,
- The visitors outscored Wagner, 6-3, over the next four minutes to tie the game at 24-24, as Correa was able to dial one up from three-point range.
- The Green & White answered back with a 7-2 spurt to end the quarter and entered the break with a 31-26 halftime lead.
- Marisa Sanchez-Henry and reigning Northeast Conference (NEC) Rookie of the Week, Lina Loceniece, powered the offense over the near three-minute run.
Third Quarter…
- Krista Grava continued her fast start in this contest, as she reached double-figures 23 seconds into the third quarter, as Wagner increased their lead to seven, 33-26.
- St. John's continued to chip into the Wagner lead, scoring five of the next seven points, as the visitors found themselves trailing by just four, 35-31, at the 7:57 mark.
- The Green & White quickly answered back on a 7-3 run that saw the lead move back to eight, 42-34, as Thybulle was able to hit one from the outside.
- Nolan slowed down the Wagner run with a layup that made it 42-36.
- Both teams struggled to find the range from the field in the latter stages of the quarter.
- Correa made a pair from the line with 2:34 left that made it 42-38 before Nwabudu was able to sink a pair to push the lead back up to six, 44-38.
- Following a missed jumper from Nwabudu, senior guard Raven Pitt was able to outmuscle an SJU defender to grab the rebound and deliver a well-timed feed that found the waiting arms of Tokuhara, who banked in the layup, giving the Seahawks a 46-38 lead with 95 seconds left in the third.
- Cosgrove was able to power in two points to close out the third as Wagner held on to a six-point advantage, 46-40, heading into the fourth.
Fourth Quarter…
- Drake carried the Red Storm in the opening moments of the fourth, sinking a pair of three-pointers that tied the score at 46.
- Krista Grava connected on a baseline jumper as Wagner regained the lead only to have Bailey answer with a layup on the other end, knotting the score at 48.
- The two teams continued to trade baskets as Cowan put the Seahawks ahead before Cosgrove responded with a layup of her own on the next possession.
- Two straight baskets from Krista Grava and Drayah Heyward gave Wagner a slim 54-50 lead with under six minutes to go.
- Correa would then hit four straight from the line, tying the game again, this time at 54-54, with 3:29 showing on the game clock.
- Krista Grava netted the next four points for the Seahawks, as Wagner went ahead 58-54 with 1:27 as St. John's called for time.
- Following the timeout, Correa was sent to the line and hit both her chances that brought the lead down to a single possession, 58-56, with 39 seconds left in regulation.
- Thybulle was able get the ball from Cowan at the top-of-the-key. The Elmont, NY native was able to drive into the paint before veering off to the right elbow and hit a pull-up jumper, as Wagner went up 60-56, while SJU called for time.
- When play resumed, Drake once again connected for the visitors, as her three made it a one-point deficit with just four seconds left to go, 60-59.
- Head Coach Terrell Coburn used his final timeout. When play resumed, Camree Clegg fouled Loceniece, as the reigning NEC Rookie of the Week was able to calmly hit from the line, extending the lead to three, 62-59, and forcing St. John's to take another timeout.
- The Red Storm elected to advance the ball in front of their bench, but could not get a shot off, as Wagner was able to hang on for the win, extending their win streak to six.
UP NEXT...
- The Green & White will conclude the non-conference portion of their schedule with a pair of road tilts, beginning on Saturday, December 18, as the Seahawks will look for their seventh-straight win at Jersey Mike's Arena when they take on Rutgers before closing out the non-conference season at Seton Hall on December 21.
