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Staten Island, NY – The Wagner College women's basketball team improved to 8-4 overall and 8-3 in Northeast Conference play with a 72-64 victory over Bryant (6-10; 4-8 NEC) on Wednesday at the Spiro Sports Center.
The Seahawks had four players finish in double figures. Junior
Emilija Krista Grava led all scorers with 18 points on 6 of 11 shooting from the floor in 27 minutes of action. The Lignate, Latvia native went a perfect 6 of 6 from the free-throw line while dishing out four assists.
Junior
Kem Nwabudu and senior combo guard
Khaleah Edwards each netted 12 points. Nwabudu corralled a team-leading eight rebounds in the victory. Senior guard
Alayshia Dailey added ten points while distributing a team-high seven helpers in her 32 minutes of play.
Three Bulldogs scored double digits, led by Nicole Gallagher, who turned in a double-double with a team-high 13 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, ten of which came on the defensive glass. She also handed out four assists in her 38 minutes of action.
Brooke Bjelko, the NEC's leading scorer coming into play, finished with 11 points while Fatou Jallow contributed ten points in 21 minutes of action.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE…
- Today's victory marked the first win over the Bulldogs at the Spiro Sports Center for Wagner as the Seahawks stopped a ten-game drought (1-10).
- The Seahawks held a 35-30 edge on the boards.
- Wagner turned 18 Bryant turnovers into 20 points.
- The Seahawks scored half of their points (36) from inside the paint.
- The Green & White were on the run in the contest, outscoring the Bulldogs, 11-1, on fast-break chances.
- Bryant's reserves outscored Wagner's bench, 19-13.
- Bryant outshot Wagner, 57.1-42.9 percent in the opening half.
HOW IT HAPPENED…
First Quarter
- Both teams traded baskets over the first three minutes of the contest before a 7-2 run pushed the Seahawks' lead to 14-9 after Edwards converted on the traditional three-point play from the free-throw line.
- The visitors regained the lead, 19-18, on the heels of a 10-4 run over four minutes, in which the Bulldogs converted on 4 of 7 from the field and limited Wagner to just two made field goals in seven chances.
- Gallagher was the catalyst for the Bryant offense during the run, netting six of the ten points.
- Edwards gave Wagner the lead after executing a perfectly timed backdoor cut for a layup on a find from Krista Grava.
Second Quarter
- The back and forth continued before Dailey and Nwabudu were able to convert on back-to-back baskets which pushed the Seahawks ahead, 26-22.
- Bryant's Juliette Golden hit from the free-throw line that trimmed the Wagner advantage to just two, 26-24 at the 7:24 mark.
- Wagner scored ten of the next 17 points over a 6:25 span that increased the lead to 36-31, as Krista Grava was able to drain one of her patented jumpers off a feed from Dailey.
- The Seahawks took its largest lead of the half, 38-31, as Krista Grava hit both of her attempts from the charity stripe.
- With 21 seconds remaining in the quarter, Gallagher was able to drill a three-pointer that narrowed the gap to four, 38-34, as both teams headed for the locker room.
Third Quarter
- Wagner came out of the intermission hitting on all cylinders, igniting a 10-2 run over the first 2:30 of the third quarter in building a 48-36 lead, thanks to a 10-2 run, in which the Seahawks were a perfect 4 of 4 from the field.
- Zhaneia Thybulle was the Seahawks' spark, scoring five of her seven points during the run.
- Bryant responded with an 11-3 run of their own, which cut the Wagner lead to just four, 51-47, with 2:58 left in the period as Jallow netted five of the 11 points in Bryant's comeback attempt.
- The two teams could not find their earlier touch from the field until Edwards ended the scoring drought with a corner three from Dailey that made it 54-47.
- Bryant quickly answered back as Mariona Planes Fortuny was able to muster her way in for the layup that chipped the lead back to five, 54-49.
Fourth Quarter
- Bryant's momentum continued as the fourth quarter opened with a layup by Shannon O'Connor and a three-pointer by Alana Perkins which tied the game at 54.
- Krista Grava halted the Bulldog run, shortly, before O'Connor once again buried the mid-range jumper to tie the score at 56-56.
- Kate Tokuhara provided Wagner with a much needed spark off-the-bench. She scored seven points over the next four minutes to help the Seahawks take a 67-61 lead.
- Bryant's Kandis Taylor converted on a layup that kept the visitors in the contest, trailing 67-63, with 1:57 showing on the game clock as the Bulldogs called for time.
- The Seahawks scored five of the final six points, capped by Tokuhara hitting the backend of a two-shot foul, that gave Wagner the win.
Postgame Press Conference
Up Next...
- Wagner and Bryant close out the two-game series on Thursday afternoon.
- Tip-off from the Spiro Sports Center is set for 4:00 p.m.
