Box Score

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball handled Wagner Saturday afternoon at the Stratis Arena, 82-70, to notch their first Northeast Conference victory of the season. With the win on Play-4-Kay day, the Knights improve to 2-20 (1-10 NEC) on the season while the Seahawks fall to 5-17 (4-7 NEC).

FDU jumped out a 17-10 lead thanks to terrific play on both ends of the floor from senior Desiree Crawford (Aurora, Ontario/Cardinal Carter Catholic) who had six points and three blocks in the opening 5:30.

The two teams traded baskets for the next 10 minutes, including three ties, with FDU never relinquishing the lead. A Jasmine Nwajei lay-up gave Wagner their first lead of the day at 31-29 with four minutes left in the first half. The Seahawks would finish the half on a 9-4 run and go into halftime with a five point lead.

The second half was an evenly contested and tight battle that saw nine ties and nine lead changes. Crawford, on pace for a career game, drew two tough fouls and was relegated to the bench for a large stretch of the second stanza. Her teammates stepped up and made huge plays in her absence.

Sophomore Brianna Thomas (Baldwin, N.Y./St. John the Baptist Diocesan) tallied 15 of her 19 points in the second half to go along with seven rebounds, one assist, two blocks, and a steal in 18 second-half minutes. Sophomore Kelsey Cruz (Chester, Va./Lloyd C. Bird) also poured in 10 points on 4-6 shooting while playing every minute after halftime.

With a little over 7 minutes to go in the game and the score knotted at 63, freshman Valerie Oyakhilome (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) hit a free throw to give FDU a lead they would hold until the end.

The Knights would enjoy a 19-7 run to close out the game and notch their first conference victory of the season.

Despite missing a large chuck of time in the second-half, Crawford ended up with a career-high 21 points, including clutch free throws down the stretch, to go along with her nine rebounds and four blocks.

Thomas finished with 19 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and a steal over 28 minutes. Cruz shot 6-16 from the field and 3-3 from the line for 16 points. Junior Amanda Andrades (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) had a very nice all-around game putting up 14 points, six rebounds, and six assists to go along with four steals. Sophomore Anastasia Williams (Central Islip, N.Y./St. John the Baptist Diocesan) was impressive down low with five points and 11 rebounds, her sixth game with double-digit boards this season.

FDU were outshot from the field (44% to 38% FG and 30% to 25% from deep) by Wagner but outrebounded the Seahawks 47-40 and limited their turnovers to 10 in what was perhaps their most complete performance of the season.

Wagner's Nwajei came into the game ranked second in the conference for scoring and finished today's contest with 26 points on 10-28 shooting while adding five rebounds, six assists, and a pair of steals over all 40 minutes. Star center Ugo Nwaigwe tallied 11 points and 13 rebounds and an incredible seven blocks after posting 24 rebounds in a win over Robert Morris earlier in the week. Sophomore Jordyn Peck also poured an efficient 21 points, 15 of which came in the second-half, while playing every minute.

Next up for the Knights is the second game in their current four-game homestand when Mount St. Mary's visits Hackensack on Monday night, February 10. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and a live video broadcast can be found on NEC Front Row.