Piscataway, NJ - The Wagner women's basketball team saw their six-game win streak end on Saturday afternoon, as the Seahawks dropped a 73-54 decision to Big Ten members, Rutgers at Jersey Mike's Arena.
Lina Loceniece, the reigning two-time Northeast Conference (NEC) Rookie of the Week, led the way for the Seahawks with 11 points on 4 of 6 shooting. The freshman guard went a perfect 3 of 3 from three-point range in her 18 minutes of action off the bench.
Senior
Zhaneia Thybulle also reached double-figures, finishing the contest with ten points, four rebounds, three assists, and a steal in 32 minutes of play.
Rutgers had four players finish in double-digits, led by Jailyn Mason, who poured in a game-high 17 points. For Mason, 11 of her 17 points came in the second half.
Tyia Singleton and Sakima Walker each netted 13 points on a combined 11 of 17 shooting. Osh Brown produced a double-double, scoring 12 and grabbing a game-best 11 caroms.
Inside-The-Boxscore...
- Junior Drayah Heyward recorded a career-high seven steals against the Scarlet Knights.
- It is the most steals in a game by a Seahawk since former Wagner standout Sierra Clark swiped seven at home against Stony Brook back on November 26, 2017.
- The seven swipes by the Newark, NJ native is the most by an NEC player this season, surpassing LIU's Brandy Thomas, who had six steals against Manhattan back on November 24.
- The program record for steals in a game belongs to Shawn Martin, who recorded 11 back on December 28, 1987, against Hartford.
- For the first time this season, the Green & White allowed an opponent to shoot over 30.0 percent from three-point range, as the Scarlet Knights hit on 6 of 15 from the outside (40.0%).
- Wagner's defense forced 18 turnovers, which turned into 25 points by the visitors.
- Rutgers scored a little more than half of their points from inside the paint, outscoring Wagner, 36-8.
- The Scarlet Knights also held the edge on the boards, 37-24.
HOW IT HAPPENED…
First Quarter…
- Rutgers jumped out to an early 6-2 lead following a layup by Brown before the Seahawks answered back with five straight points to cut the lead to one, 6-5, after Alex Cowan hit on the mid-range jumper.
- A 6-0 run by the Scarlet Knights upped the lead to seven, 12-5, as Walker hit on the jumper before the visitors closed out the opening quarter scoring the last five points, three of which from Loceniece just before the first quarter buzzer sounded.
Second Quarter…
- Katrice Jackson opened the scoring for the Green & White, hitting a pair of free throws that tied the game at 12-12.
- Rutgers embarked on a 9-0 run that was capped by a Shug Dickson layup as RU went up 21-12 and forced Wagner to burn a timeout.
- When play resumed, Heyward briefly halted the run with a three-pointer off the feed from Jackson.
- The home team rattled off the next eight points in taking a 29-15 lead.
- Wagner continued to be relentless in their comeback attempt, outscoring RU 11-6 over the next 3:15 in cutting the deficit to nine, 35-26, as Loceniece connected on her second three-pointer of the contest.
- Mason answered Loceniece's triple with one of her own and Walker closed out the first half with a layup as Wagner found themselves down 14 (40-26) at the break.
Third Quarter…
- The Seahawks chipped away in the early stages of the third, as Cowan was able to loft a pass to reigning NEC Player of the Week, Emilija Krista Grava, who in turn spotted a cutting Thybulle on her way to the hoop.
- Wagner got the lead to single-digits as Cowan dialed it up from the corner off the feed from Thybulle, as the Seahawks trailed 40-31 with 9:07 left to go in the third.
- Following two points from the charity stripe by Walker, Cowan started to find her range from the outside, hitting on her second trifecta that made it 42-34.
- Rutgers embarked on a 12-2 run over the next four minutes that saw them increase their lead to 54-36.
- The Seahawks closed out the quarter on a 6-0 run, as Loceniece hit the floating jumper with 29 seconds left that brought Wagner within 12, 54-42.
Fourth Quarter…
- Rutgers opened the fourth quarter on a 10-0 run that saw them go-ahead 64-42 after Singleton completed the traditional three-point play from the line.
- Thybulle sparked a 10-2 run by Wagner over the next three minutes that put a halt to the Rutgers run, as Rakisha Ballinger was able to hit the baseline jumper to cap the run.
- The Scarlet Knights closed out the game scoring seven of the final nine points as Wagner saw its six-game winning streak stopped.
UP NEXT...
- Wagner closes out the non-conference portion of its schedule on Tuesday, December 21 as the Seahawks head to South Orange, NJ to tangle with Big East members, Seton Hall.
- Tipoff from Walsh Gymnasium is set for noon.
