Box Score HACKENSACK, N.J. –
Kelsey Cruz (Chester, Va./Lloyd C. Bird) banked in the game winner with 1.5 seconds left on the clock and the Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball escaped with a 72-70 Northeast Conference victory after losing a 12-point halftime lead. FDU improves to 4-12 (1-4 NEC) with the victory, while the Seahawks fall to 4-12 (2-3 NEC) overall.
"I am very proud of the team. We handled Wagner's great comeback and were able to come up with some big stops down the stretch." Head Coach
Peter Cinella said after the game, "
Tiffany Grant (Odenton, Md./Arundel) was huge all day but in particular down the stretch.
Amanda Andrades (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) hit a huge shot and played great defense throughout.
Erika Livermore (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area) had a big day on the boards and Kelsey came up clutch once again. I'm very proud of this team. It's great when seniors come up big down the stretch of games."
The Knights led throughout the first half after starting the contest on a 17-6 run featuring five different scorers, while Wagner sophomore Jasmine Nwajei, the NEC's leading scorer, was responsible for all six points.
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Valerie Oyakhilome (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) three at the 7:12 mark sparked a 9-4 run to push the hosts' lead to its largest of the afternoon – 16, with 4:16 left in the half.
Nwajei drained back-to-back threes within a 30-second span but the Knights headed into the half with a 12-point lead, 40-28, with Livermore carrying her eighth double-double of the season on 16 points and 11 rebounds.
The Seahawks came out of the break shooting well and playing fast and it was Lyndsay Rowe's 10 points that inspired a 16-8 run over the first seven minutes.
Jordyn Peck drained a three-pointer from right in front of her coach to cut the lead to two at the 11:32 mark and, although FDU would get the lead back up to six twice in the ensuing two minutes, the visitors, led by Nwajei , tied the score up at 59 apiece with 7:17 to play.
Wagner earned its first lead of the afternoon through a Taylor Butigian three to make it 62-60 but Grant answered immediately with one of her own.
After a Nwajei layup and two free throws from Jazmine Hamlet, the Seahawks led by three with 2:21 to play. Andrades, deep in the shot clock on the next possession, hit her second long-range effort of the game to get the score back even, 68-68.
Nwajei converted another layup at 1:27 and Grant drove to the basket and absorbed contact to the head to line with a chance to tie the game with 40 seconds remaining. Grant converted both.
The Knights buckled down on defense as Wagner struggled to run a play in the half-court and committed a turnover with two ticks on the shot clock. Cinella called a timeout with less than five seconds on the game clock and drew up a play for Cruz. The junior guard drove hard against defenders and her banked jumper went in to give the Knights their first conference win of the season.
FDU was led by Livermore, who scored 22 points and corralled a career-high 21 rebounds in just 30 minutes, and Grant's career-high 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
Cruz added 15 points and Andrades chipped in six points, two rebounds, and five assists in 40 minutes.
Nwajei tallied her sixth 30-point game of the season, finishing with 31 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals in 38 minutes.
The Knights outrebounded the Seahawks 46-42, with nearly half (20) coming on the offensive glass.
Both teams finished with similar shooting percentages; Wagner shot 37.1% from the field compared to FDU's 35.4% but the Knights held the edge from the charity stripe, converting on 20-of-28 attempts, while the Seahawks put up an 11-for-14 line.
FDU has a quick turnaround before hosting Mount St. Mary's on Monday afternoon in a Martin Luther King, Jr. matinee. Tipoff from Stratis Arena is set for 2 p.m. with NEC Front Row carrying a live video broadcast.
