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Lamar Carter - NJIT Athletics
52
Winner Wagner WC 10-3,3-0 NEC
38
Sacred Heart SH 4-5,1-1 NEC
Winner
Wagner WC
10-3,3-0 NEC
52
Final
38
Sacred Heart SH
4-5,1-1 NEC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Wagner WC 7 14 18 13 52
Sacred Heart SH 12 13 7 6 38

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women's Basketball Overcomes Early Deficit To Remain Perfect In NEC Play; Defeats Sacred Heart 52-38

Fairfield, CT - Trailing 25-21 at halftime, the Wagner women's basketball team came out in the third quarter and stifled Sacred Heart University down-the-stretch, as the Seahawks posted a 52-38 road victory at the William H. Pitt Center on Saturday afternoon. 
 
Wagner (10-3; 4-0 NEC) had two players finish in double-figures, led by senior guard Zhaneia Thybulle, who netted a game-high 16 points on 6 of 14 shooting from the field while playing the full forty minutes. 
 
Alex Cowan added 11 points on 4 of 7 shooting from the floor while hitting 3 of 6 from the outside.  Lina Loceniece chipped in nine points off-the-bench, all of which coming from three-point range. 
 
Nikki Johnson was the lone Pioneer to reach double-digits, as she finished with 10 points on 5 of 13 shooting. Sonia Smith, who entered play as the second-leading scorer in the Northeast Conference at 14.8 ppg, was limited to just five points on 1 of 9 shooting. 
Inside-The-Boxscore...
  • With today's win, Wagner moves to 4-0 to start the conference for the first time since the 1998-99 season when the Seahawks jumped out to a 4-0 league start.
    • That season the Green & White earned victories over St. Francis Brooklyn, LIU, Robert Morris, and Saint Francis U before the win streak snapped at then-league member, UMBC (1/2/99). 
    • The 1998-99 team, coached by Tara Gallagher, finished the year 16-12 and 13-7 in league contests. 
  • The Seahawks turned 19 SHU turnovers into 19 points. 
  • Wagner held a 38-32 edge on the boards while scoring 22 points from inside-the-paint. 
  • For the 11th time this season, the Seahawks held an opponent to under 30.0 percent shooting, as the Pioneers managed to shoot only 11.1 percent from the outside (2 of 18). 
    • Entering today's contest, the Pioneers ranked third in the circuit in three-point shooting, hitting at a 37.0 percent clip. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED…
First Quarter…
  • Sacred Heart opened up the contest outscoring Wagner, 12-5, before Thybulle netted her second basket of the contest, as the visitors trailed by five, 12-7. 
  • The two teams combined to shoot 9 of 23 from the field.
    • The Seahawks didn't attempt a three-pointer in the opening quarter, but didn't allow SHU to convert one, as the Pioneers opened the game 0-4 from long distance. 


Second Quarter…
  • Both teams started to find their rhythm in their respective offense as the second quarter opened up. 
  • Loceniece dialed up the first of her three triples that brought the visitors to within two, 12-10, at the 8:12 mark. 
  • Carly Stroemel, who finished with seven points and tied for the team-lead with five rebounds, made one of two from the line before Cowan was able to tie the game at 13, thanks to a three-pointer from the left wing. 
  • Smith's only made field goal came in response to Cowan's basket, as the Pioneers went ahead 16-13.
  • Thybulle, who paced the Wagner offense in the first half of action, was able to trim the lead further with a jumper with 6:10 to go before halftime. 
  • Adrianne Hagood, a perennial All-NEC selection, made her only basket of the game at the line with under five minutes to play that gave SHU a 17-15 advantage. 
  • Kem Nwabudu, who finished with seven points and a team-best 10 rebounds, was able to muscle two, knotting the game at 17-17.
  • SHU scored eight of the final 12 points in the frame in building a 25-21 lead.  
 
Third Quarter…
  • Olivia Tucker hit a corner three-pointer that increased the Pioneers' lead to seven, 28-21, with 8:42 showing on the game clock.
  • Over the remaining 8:12 of the quarter, the momentum swung in favor of Wagner, as the Seahawks finished the third quarter on an 18-4 run, in which they held SHU to just 2 of 14 shooting and 0 of 6 from the outside in taking a 39-32 lead.
  • Emilija Krista Grava and Thybulle combined for 13 of the 18 points during this span as Wagner shot 50.0 percent (4 of 8) while hitting on 9 of 10 from the free-throw line.
 
Fourth Quarter…
  • The visitors carried the momentum over to the fourth quarter, as the Seahawks added five more points, thanks to a Nwabudu layup and Cowan's second three of the contest, in taking a 44-32 lead.
    • In total, Wagner had orchestrated a 23-4 run in approximately 12 minutes that saw SHU held to just 2 of 17 shooting and 0 of 6 from the outside.
  • Olivia Martino hit a jumper that put an end to the lengthy Seahawk run, as the visitors led 44-34.
  • The Green & White scored eight of the final 12 points in becoming the first NEC team this season to reach double-digits in wins (10) and the only unbeaten team left in the league (4-0). 
 
Next Up For Wagner…
  • The Seahawks will close out their four-game road trip next week, as they will first head to St. Francis Brooklyn on Saturday, January 15, for a 7:00 p.m. contest that will be televised on SNY and ESPN3 before heading to Fairleigh Dickinson on Monday, January 17. 
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