Listen Live (1/5) At 2:00 pm (EST)
Game Time - Wagner will look to snap a nine-game losing streak at Sacred Heart as the Seahawks embark on the bulk of their NEC schedule. The Pioneers started out slowly but are now 7-6 and a perfect 2-0 in conference play. The Green & White meanwhile have lost nine-straight following back-to-back wins to start the season.
Coach Gela - Wagner is led by Gela Mikalauskas, who is in her second tenure on Grymes Hill. She is the winningest coach in school history and sports a career record of 181-194 in this her 14th year. Her complete bio can be found on page 10.
Scouting SHU - The Pioneers lost the face of the program when 2005-06 NEC MVP and all-time leading scorer Amanda Pape graduated last year. Sacred Heart also said farewell to Jasmine Walker (all-time leading rebounder) and Kerri Burke (all-time leader in assists). Despite the numerous losses the Pioneers are 7-6 and 2-0 in the NEC, with four of their losses coming by five points or less.
Junior Kaitlin Sowinski leads the Pioneers in scoring (18.4 ppg) and is second in rebounding (6.8 rpg). Classmate and Fairfield transfer Stephanie Ryan is averaging a team-best 8.3 rpg with 11.2 ppg.
All-Time Vs. SHU - The Green & White are just 7-11 all-time against the Pioneers, losing the last six by an average of 22.7 ppg. Since taking all three games against SHU in 1999-2000, Wagner is just 3-10 and has lost seven-straight in Fairfield, CT. Complete series results can be found on page five of the game notes.
"I Won't Back Down!" - To say Wagner faced tough competition in their Holiday Classic would be an understatement. The Seahawks lost to Pitt (12/30) and James Madison (12/31) by an average of 48.0 ppg . The two teams played against each other in last year's NCAA Tournament and garnered scouts from three WNBA teams for their neutral-court game at Wagner. Pitt (10-3) plays in the Big East, currently the No. 1 ranked conference according to www.collegerpi.com, and is ranked 37th in the individual RPI rankings. The Colonial Athletic Association is also no slouch, ranking ninth with JMU (7-4) checking in at 48th. The two conferences combined to send 11 teams to last year's NCAA Tournament.
Bunyer Hits For 1,000 Points - With her jumper at the 11:10 mark of the first at NJIT (12/21) senior Chelsey Bunyer became the 21st Seahawk to hit for 1,000 points. She now has 1,029 points and is 13th in the NEC with a team-best 11.2 ppg. Bunyer is now 17 points behind current SFNY coach and 1995 Wagner alum Brenda Milano for 20th (1,046 points) in school annals.
Double-Digit Bunyer - A case can be made that the most important aspect of the Wagner offense is Chelsey Bunyer hitting for double-digits. Bunyer has knocked down at least 10 points in five games this season and is averaging 19.8 ppg, on the strength of three 20-plus point performances, in those games. She is shooting a blistering 51.2 percent while helping the Green & White connect at a 41.1 percent clip.
Reunion Of Sorts - Today's game features a pair of reunions for the two teams. Ashley Olsen and Liz Gruber of Sacred Heart were high school teammate at Notre Dame Academy and were both coached by Maureen Hannafin. Stephanie McBride and Sacred Heart's Lindsey Gibson were high school teammates at Catholic Central High School.
Reed Ranks Among The Best - Sophomore Andrea Reed is first in the NEC in assists (5.9 apg) and steals (2.6 spg) to go along with averages of 8.1 ppg, which rank 28th in the NEC, and 3.8 rpg.
Hey! Hey! It's Case! - While junior co-captain Casey Stokes is averaging just 1.3 ppg in 11 games this year her eyes get big when she sees Sacred Heart on the schedule. Two years ago as a walk-on freshman trying to earn a spot in the rotation she broke out in a big way against the Pioneers. Stokes hit for a career-high 14 points, on 5-7 shooting highlighted by four three pointers, with five rebounds and four assists, against just two turnovers, in Wagner's narrow 67-56 loss to the eventual NEC Champs. This year she is third on the team with 12 steals.
Freshmen Coming Of Age - Freshmen Ashley Olsen and Stephanie McBride each entered the starting line-up for the first time in their respective careers at the Wagner Holiday Classic. Olsen got the starting nod against Pitt (12/30) and James Madison (12/31), leading the team in scoring (nine points) vs. the Dukes. McBride started against JMU after scoring a career-best 12 points, highlighted by a career-high three triples, against Pitt.
The pair broke out earlier in the season at Saint Peter's (11/27) with Olsen hitting for a career-high 18 points while McBride also had 10 points.
Olsen followed that up with a 14-point outing against Boston College and is seeing her offensive game take off, averaging a team-best 9.0 ppg with 4.1 rpg over her last eight games. In her first three games she scored just 3.3 ppg. The two have also hit 23 of Wagner's 42 three pointers.
Common Foes - Wagner and Sacred Heart have each defeated Columbia and Princeton. The Seahawks disposed of the Lions by 11 points and the Tigers by 26 points. Sacred Heart won by 14 points and one point, respectively.
Redmond Debuts - Wagner freshman Ashlee Redmond saw her first game action at the Wagner Holiday Classic scoring two points vs. Pitt (12/30) and one vs. James Madison (12/31). Ashlee and her father Art, an assistant on the women's team, have now scored a combined 1,294 points for the Seahawks.
Bench Play The Wagner bench outscored the starters for the second time this year, albeit by a 28-22 count vs. UMass (12/15), led by sophomore John'a Poole's team-high 11 points. It marked the first time Poole came off the bench this season. Classmate Naomi Augustin replaced her in the starting line-up giving Wagner a different starting five for the first time this year.
At NJIT (12/21) the bench helped Wagner take the lead late in the second after trailing by as many as 14 points. The reserves scored 18 second-half points, including seven each from Augustin and freshman Ashley Olsen.
Second-Half Superstar - Andrea Reed has gotten better as the game has gone on this entire year. She is averaging 5.7 ppg, on 53.8 percent (21-39) shooting, including hitting on 76.9 percent (20-26) of her free throws in the final 20 minutes.
Ridge Breaks Out - After blocking just seven shots in seven games, Wagner's career blocks leader senior Ali Ridge swatted six vs. UMass (12/15) and two at NJIT (12/21). She now has 176 for her career and is fourth in the NEC with 1.6 bpg. Against SFNY (12/8) she hit for double-digits for the first time this year with a team-best 14 points, on 7-10 shooting, with seven rebounds. She had a solid game vs. James Madison (12/31) with eight points, six boards and three blocks.
She is eighth in the NEC and leads the team with 7.4 rpg. Ridge is also shooting 76.9 percent from the line since the start of her junior year, after hitting on just 54.5 percent in her first two years. She is one made FT away from qualifying for the NEC list and would rank first with at her current success rate o 87.5 percent (21-24).
Seahawks Tie School-Record In Chicago - The Green & White hit on all 15 of their free throws against Central Michigan (12/1) to tie a school-record for highest percentage of shots hit from the charity stripe. Wagner is one of three schools at the Division I level to connect on every one of their free throws in a game (min. 15 attempts) this year.
At NJIT (12/21), the Seahawks overcame a 14-point deficit before succumbing in the final seconds thanks in large part to 89.5 percent shooting (17-19) from the charity stripe, including 88.2 percent (15-17) in the second half.
Success Is Contagious - The Wagner Seahawks coaching staff is hoping that success is contagious. Wagner boasts the only coaching staff in America that has three coaches, who are all members of their current employer's Athletic Hall of Fame. Mikalauskas is in the HOF as coach while Redmond and Hannafin were standout players during the Golden Years of the 1980s.
Up Next - The Seahawks return home to host CCSU at the Spiro Sports Center on Monday, Jan. 7 at 7 pm.
