Women's Basketball Pulls Away From Fairleigh Dickinson, 71-59, To Improve To .500 In NEC-Play

Staten Island, NY – The Wagner College women's basketball team had a slow start in Monday's Northeast Conference (NEC) tilt with Fairleigh Dickinson but ultimately earned a 71-59 triumph over the Knights. Both teams move to 4-11 overall on the season while the Seahawks even out its conference record to 2-2 while Fairleigh Dickinson falls to 1-3 in league contests. The .500 start for the Green & White is the best four-game start to a conference season since the 2014-15 season, where Wagner was 2-2 after its first-four conference games

The Seahawks placed three in double figures and connected on 50.0 percent (27-of-54) of their shots in the contest, outscoring the Knights, 26-10, in the second quarter and 66-48 over the final three quarters. Redshirt sophomore Taylah Simmons poured in a career-high 20 points to lead the Seahawk offense on the evening. The Melbourne, Australia native converted on 8-of-15 from the field in her 37 minutes of action. Simmons' 20-point performance was the first time this season that a Seahawk had eclipsed that plateau. The last time a Seahawk scored 20 or more points was Sierra Clark, who poured in 23 at Robert Morris back on March 2, 2018. Freshman forward Emilija Krista Grava nearly matched Simmons, as she ended the contest with 19 on 8-of-13 to go along with a team-high six rebounds. Krista Grava also swatted a career-high three shots in 34 minutes of action. Sophomore Alayshia Dailey was the third Seahawk in double digits, as she added 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor while dishing out five assists, three steals and a block in 34 minutes. FDU's Natalie Zamora was the lone Knight in double figures, as she netted 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, which included a 5-of-9 clip from the outside in 34 minutes of play. Lauren Francillon chipped in eight points and a team-leading eight caroms. At the end of the first quarter, Wagner found themselves trailing by six, 11-5, after being held to just a 2-of-11 start while the Knights hit on 41.7 percent from the field. Krista Grava scored all five of Wagner's points in the opening quarter.

Both teams traded buckets over the first two and half minutes in the third quarter, as Wagner held a 38-29 lead at the 6:57 mark. Fairleigh Dickinson narrowed the gap to six, 45-39, with 2:17 left in the stanza, as the Knights outscored Wagner, 10-7, as Zamora scored six of the ten points for the visitors. At the end of the frame, Wagner was leading by eight, 49-41. Fairleigh Dickinson ignited a 7-2 run to start the fourth quarter as the visitors were only trailing by a single possession, 51-48, but Krista Grava ended that run after getting the pass from Carter. The Seahawks closed out the game, scoring 18 of the contest final 29 points in earning their first home win of the season and second conference triumph.