Listen Live (1/7) At 7:00 pm (EST)
Staten Island, NY - Wagner returns to action when CCSU invades the Spiro Sports Center tonight at 7 pm. The Blue Devils and the Seahawks were slated to finish in a tie for 10th place in the NEC. Both teams have struggled, combining for just three wins.
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 181-195 in this her 14th year. Her complete bio can be found on page 10.
Scouting CCSU - CCSU (1-12; 0-2 NEC) is guided by first year head coach Beryl Piper, who is leading one of the youngest teams in the nation. The Blue Devils have just three upperclassmen on their roster and are paced by a pair of sophomores and a freshman. Sophomore Emily Rose leads the team in scoring (9.1 ppg) while classmate P.J. Wade is second with 9.0 ppg to go along with 5.5 rpg. Freshman Kerrianne Dugan checks in with averages of 8.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg and a team-best 2.2 apg. Dugan embodies the young Blue Devils as she was named NEC Rookie of the Week after scoring 15 points with seven rebounds in the team's lone win of the year at Stony Brook.
All-Time Vs. CCSU - The Green & White are 12-11 all-time against the Blue Devils and have won two straight and three of their last five against the New Britain, CT-based school. Last year in the teams met just once with Wagner picking up their only NEC win of the year at CCSU. The Green & White used a 16-0 run midway through the second stanza to help snap an 11-game losing streak with a 69-63 win. John'a Poole hit for a career-high 17 points, on 7-12 shooting, to lead four double-digit scorers for the Seahawks. Chelsey Bunyer also added 16 points. The win was also Wagner's first on the road since the 2004-2005 season. Complete series results can be found on page five of the game notes.
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. After hitting for eight more at Sacred Heart (1/5) she has 1,037 points and is 13th in the NEC with a team-best 10.9 ppg. Bunyer is now just nine points behind current SFNY coach and 1995 Wagner alum Brenda Milano for 20th (1,046 points) in school annals. The complete Wagner 1,000-point list can be found on page six of the game notes.
Reed Ranks Among The Best - Sophomore Andrea Reed is first in the NEC and 17th nationally in assists (5.8 apg). She also leads the conference in steals (2.6 spg) to go along with averages of 8.6 ppg, which ranks 27th in the NEC, and 3.8 rpg.
She is also shooting a team-best 42.7 percent from the field and 77.8 percent from the charity stripe.
During NEC games Reed is averaging team-bests in scoring (13.5 ppg) and rebounding (6.0 rpg) while leading the team with 7.0 apg and 4.0 spg.
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.
Second-Half Struggles - The Seahawks shot a blistering 58.9 percent (33-56) in the second half over their first two games, wins over Columbia (11/10) and Princeton (11/13). Since then Wagner is shooting just 34.6 percent (97-280), including 25.6 percent (20-78) from three-point land, in the second period combined.
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.
The bench has scored over 20 points in five games this year and over the last two contests is averaging 25.0 ppg.
For Starters - After using the same starting line-up for the first seven games Wagner has now used four other starting line-ups, including different ones in each of the past three games. Nine different Seahawks have started games for the Green & White.
Second-Half Superstar - Andrea Reed has gotten better as the game has gone on this entire year. She is averaging 5.9 ppg, on 54.5 percent (24-44) shooting, including hitting on 78.6 percent (22-28) of her free throws in the final 20 minutes.
On The Air - The Seahawk Broadcasting Network returns for their seventh season of broadcasting Wagner women's basketball. Selected Seahawk games can be accessed through www.wagnerathletics.com via yahoo.com.
Upcoming Schedule
Jan. 7 CCSU 7:00 pm
Jan. 9 at Army 7:00 pm
Jan. 12 SFPA 5:00 pm
Jan. 14 at Monmouth 7:00 pm
Jan. 21 at LIU 2:00 pm
Jan. 26 at FDU 4:30 pm
Jan. 28 Mount St. Mary's 7:00 pm
Up Next - Wagner heads to Army on Wednesday, Jan. 9 for a 7 pm contest in their final non-conference game of the year.
