Brooklyn, NY - Following a 10-10 tie after the first quarter, the Wagner women's basketball team outscored the LIU Sharks, 55-47, in posting a 65-57 road triumph on Saturday afternoon at the Steinberg Wellness Center.
Wagner (13-8; 7-5 NEC) had three players score in double-digits, led by Emilija Krista Grava, who netted a team-high 16 points on an efficient 8 of 16 shooting from the floor.
Drayah Heyward scored 11 of her career-high 13 points in the first half of play, on 4 of 5 shooting from the floor in 23 minutes of action.
Lina Loceniece, who garnered her first career start this afternoon, finished with 11 points, highlighted by a 3 of 6 marksmanship from beyond-the-arc.
The Sharks (5-15; 5-7 NEC) had two players score in double-figures, paced by Brandy Thomas, who scored a team-leading 15 points on 4 of 12 shooting from the field while hitting on 5 of 6 from the free-throw line.
Kennedy Taylor chipped in 11 points and a team-best five assists. Kiara Bell corralled a game-leading 12 rebounds, seven coming on the defensive glass in her 23 minutes of action.
Inside-The-Boxscore...
- With the victory, Wagner earns a season split with LIU (1-1) while moving to 3-2 on the season in Saturday contests.
- Krista Grava, Heyward, and Zhaneia Thybulle each finished with a team-best five rebounds.
- Thybulle, who scored eight points, dished out a game-high seven assists.
- The Seahawks defense, for the fourth consecutive game and fifth in the last six contests, has held their opponents to under 30.0 percent shooting from three-point range, as LIU was held to 25.0 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
- Wagner forced 21 LIU turnovers and scored 17 points off the Sharks' mishaps.
- The Sharks were a +6.0 on the boards, outmuscling the Seahawks, 41-35, but Wagner was able to capitalize on second chances, outsourcing the Sharks, 16-4.
HOW IT HAPPENED…
First Quarter…
- Both teams struggled early on in the contest, as the first basket of the game came the 5:38 mark, with Brandy Thomas converting on a stepback jumper before Loceniece was able to put the visitors on the board with a three-pointer off the feed from Cowan.
- Facing a four-point deficit, Heyward brought the Green & White back, scoring the next five points, which gave the Seahawks an 8-7 advantage.
- Cowan's driving layup pushed the lead to two, 10-8, before Bell was able to hit on a layup that knotted the score at 10-10.
Second Quarter…
- Both teams found their rhythm to start the second quarter, trading the first four baskets of the frame, capped by a driving layup from Cowan that tied the score at 14-14.
- Wagner went on an 11-4 run over the next 2:42 in upping the lead to 25-18, thanks to Loceniece's second three-pointer of the game.
- The Sharks answered back with four straight points that trimmed the deficit down to 25-22 following a pull-up jumper by O'Brien, but Heyward was able to drain a corner three to reach double-figures.
- LIU scored six of the final 11 points but the Seahawks entered the break with a 33-28 advantage.
Third Quarter…
- Krista Grava netted Wagner's first six points as the visitors claimed a 39-32 lead before Taylor was able to hit the driving layup.
- The Sharks managed to cut into the lead following a Shyla Sanford layup, but Loceniece was able to respond with a layup following the feed from Thybulle.
- LIU's Tayra Eke continued the back-and-forth, as she was able to power in for two.
- Loceniece reached double-figures after she was able to drill a three-pointer from the win, upping Wagner's advantage to eight, 46-38, with 5:17 left to play in the quarter.
- The Seahawks built its first double-digit lead, 49-39, as Krista Grava was able to hit on the turnaround jumper after Alex Cowan was able to find Krista Grava on the elbow.
- Thomas was able to beat the shot clock by launching a top-of-the-key three-pointer, bringing the Wagner lead back to single digits, 49-42.
Fourth Quarter…
- The visitors opened the final quarter on a 6-0 run, capped by a Heyward stepback jumper, as Wagner took its largest lead of the game, 55-42, at the 8:10 mark.
- LIU managed to get the lead down to eight on the heels of a 7-2 burst over a 2:17 span, as Emaia O'Brien was able to hit on the pull-up jumper from 15 feet out.
- The Seahawks converted on 6 of 7 from the free-throw line over the final five minutes in preserving the eight-point win.
Next Up For Wagner…
- The Seahawks will look to extend their win streak to three straight as they travel to Emmitsburg, MD to take on the defending league champions, Mount St. Mary's, on Thursday, February 10.
- Tipoff from Knott Arena is slated for 7:00 p.m.
