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Staten Island, NY – Behind a season-high 21 points from junior forward
Emilija Krista Grava, the Wagner women's basketball team picked up a 68-58 home victory over the Central Connecticut State University Blue Devils on Sunday afternoon at the Spiro Sports Center.
With the victory, Wagner improves to 9-5 overall and 9-4 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) while the Blue Devils falter to 4-11 on the year.
Krista Grava converted on 8 of 14 from the field in her 36 minutes of action and pulled down a team-leading six rebounds in the victory.
The Seahawks' bench played a pivotal role in today's victory, as Wagner got nine key points from both
LaNiya Miller and
Drayah Heyward, as Miller hit on 3 of 5 from the outside. Heyward was a perfect 6 of 6 from the charity stripe to go along with her three-point field goal.
Central Connecticut had two players in double-figures, led by Belle Lanpher's 15 points on 6 of 13 shooting from the floor. Dejah Jenkins chipped in 12 points. Jamey Napoleon pulled down a game-best ten rebounds in the loss.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE…
- Today's contest served as Wagner's Play4Kay game. The squad wore pink warm-up t-shirts, in addition to pink accessories to their jerseys.
- For Krista Grava, today's 21-point outing marked her first 20-point game of the season and tenth of her career.
- Wagner held CCSU to just 17.6 percent shooting in the first quarter and 1 of 6 from three-point range (16.7 percent). The Seahawks shot 64.3 percent (9 of 14) in the opening frame while out rebounding the Blue Devils, 13-6.
- After Wagner's hot-start to the first quarter, Central Connecticut outscored the Seahawks, 21-9, in the second after shooting 40.0 percent from the floor and holding the Seahawks under 30.0 percent shooting.
- Wagner held a 35-33 edge on the boards.
- The Seahawks turned 26 CCSU turnovers into 24 points.
- Of Wagner 68 points, 30 were scored from inside-the-paint.
- Wagner matched a season-high with 19 assists, marking the third time this season they have done so (vs. Bryant 2/24/21 & St. Francis Brooklyn 2/4/21).
- The Seahawks matched a season-best five blocks (St. Francis Brooklyn, 2/4/21).
- Kate Tokuhara dished out a career-high eight assists this afternoon, which ties her for the single-game high this season with teammates Zhaneia Thybulle (vs. St. Francis Brooklyn, Feb. 4, 2021) and Alayshia Dailey (at Merrimack, Jan. 30, 2021).
HOW IT HAPPENED…
First Quarter
- The Blue Devils jumped out to an early 5-2 lead before Wagner responded with an 18-0 run of its own, building a 20-5 advantage.
- The Seahawks held the Blue Devils to 0 of 9 shooting from the floor (0-3 from 3PT range) during a six-minute stretch. The Seahawks countered by hitting on 7 of 9 attempts during that span.
- Lanpher halted the run momentarily with a mid-range jumper.
- Miller closed the opening quarter with her second trifecta of the game off the feed from Kate Tokuhara, which gave the Seahawks its largest lead of the contest, 25-7.
Second Quarter
- Krista Grava scored the opening points of the quarter after a nifty find from Miller.
- Central Connecticut fought their way back into the contest, sparking a 12-2 run of their own, trimming the lead to 27-19 with 3:23 left to go before halftime. The Blue Devils limited Wagner to just one made field goal over the 4:19 span while hitting on 50.0 percent from the field (3 of 6) and converting 5 of 7 from the free-throw line.
- The Seahawks held a 32-19 cushion following a Krista-Grava layup with 1:48 remaining.
- The Blue Devils closed the stanza on a 9-0 run as the deficit shrunk to four, 32-28, in favor of Wagner.
Third Quarter
- CCSU took its first lead since the early portion of the game, 36-35, following a layup by Napoleon after Danielle Delano swiped the ball from Wagner's Zhaneia Thybulle and located Napoleon for two.
- It would be the last lead of the contest for CCSU, as the Seahawks strung together a more robust 20-6 run over the final 4:30 of the frame in building a 55-42 lead.
- The Seahawks connected on 6 of 7 from the floor, with Krista Grava, Heyward, and freshman Marisa Sanchez pacing the Seahawks' offense during the run.
Fourth Quarter
- The Seahawks increased the lead to 16, 61-45, as Tokuhara poked the ball away and soared to the hoop for two.
- Central Connecticut mounted a comeback attempt, as the 16-point Wagner lead dwindled to five, on the heels of an 11-0 outburst by the Blue Devils.
- Lanpher was the catalyst for the CCSU, scoring eight of the eleven points during the near two-and-a-half-minute run.
- Miller capped the Blue Devils' momentum with her third three-pointer of the contest. Tokuhara added two more on a baseline jumper that saw the Wagner go back up by double-digits.
- Krista Grava put a bow on her first 20-point game of the season, as she was able to muscle her way in for two as Wagner sealed the ten-point win.
Postgame Press Conference...
Up Next...
- Wagner and Central Connecticut close out the two-game series tomorrow afternoon with tip-off slated for 4:00 p.m.
