Dec. 28, 2007

Women's Notes

Listen To The Seahawks

Staten Island, NY - Wagner will look to snap a seven-game losing streak this weekend after winning the first two games of the year at the Wagner Holiday Classic (12/29-12/31). The Seahawks will be facing arguably their toughest opposition of the year in 2007 NCAA Tournament teams Pitt and James Madison.

The Panthers and Dukes are a combined 14-6 and last season met in the first round of the NCAA Tournament with Pitt winning on their home court by a 71-61 score behind 20 points and 15 rebounds from Marcedes Walker.

Both teams are on the cusp of the AP Top 25 poll, with the Panthers 33rd and the Dukes 38th, and will square off in the Classic's first game on Saturday, Dec. 29. Wagner and Pitt will meet on Dec. 30 before the Green & White conclude the three-day event with a game against James Madison on New Year's Eve. All three games will start at 2:00 pm.

Representing The Best - To say Wagner the Holiday Classic field is talented would be an understatement. Pitt plays in the Big East, currently the No. 1 ranked conference according to www.collegerpi.com, and is ranked 31st by the RPI rankings. The Colonial Athletic Association is also no slouch, ranking ninth with James Madison checking in at 27th. 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 1,014 points and is 11th in the NEC with a team-best 12.0 ppg. Bunyer is now 32 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.

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 four games this season and is averaging 21.5 ppg, on the strength of three 20-plus point performances, in those games helping the Seahawks to a 2-2 record. She is shooting a blistering 53.7 percent in the four games helping the Green & White connect at a .435 clip.

In Wagner's five other games, all losses, Bunyer is averaging a pedestrian 4.4 ppg on just 16.1 percent shooting as the team has hit on a miniscule 30.5 percent of their shots.

Reed Ranks Among The Best - Sophomore Andrea Reed is first in the NEC in assists (5.9 apg) and steals (2.9 spg) to go along with averages of 9.7 ppg, which rank 20th in the NEC, and 4.2 rpg.

Her shooting percentage (.439) and free throw percentage (.750) each also rank ninth in the NEC.

December Doldrums - Wagner has dropped 26 games in a row in the month of December dating back to the 2003-2004 season. The Seahawks last won on Dec. 28, 2003 with a 67-58 victory at Manhattan.

The Coaches - 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 181-193 in this her 14th year. Her complete bio can be found on page nine.

Pitt is coached by Agnus Berenato, who is 356-322 in 24 years, including 73-58 over five years at Pitt. She has also coached at Rider and Georgia Tech.

JMU is guided by sixth-year coach and 1992 alum Kenny Brooks. Brooks, the 2006-07 CAA Coach of the Year, is 104-55. Last year, he guided the Dukes to their first NCAA berth since 1995-96. Brooks previously served as an assistant for the men's program from 1998-2002.

Scouting Pitt - A preseason AP Top-25 selection, Pitt, is one of the top teams in the Big East after turning in its best season in school history in 2006-2007. The Panthers qualified for their first NCAA Tournament, advancing to the Second Round, while posting a school-record 24 wins.

Pitt returns all five starters from a year ago led by 6-3 senior center and 2006-07 First Team All-Big East Performer Marcedes Walker, who is averaging 15.3 ppg and 10.0 rpg. Junior Shavonte Zellous also checks in with a team-best 17.5 ppg.

The Panthers are 8-3, highlighted by wins over Arizona and Charlotte. In their last game, Pitt defeated Duquesne 72-54 after taking a 38-16 lead at halftime. Walker had 19 points and 14 rebounds while Zellous contributed 19 points and nine rebounds. The Panthers' three losses have come to National Powers Maryland, Duke and Penn State.

All-Time Vs. Pitt - The Seahawks and Panthers have never met. However, Berenato is 3-2 all-time against Wagner. She went 2-2 vs. the Seahawks in the early 1980s when guiding the Rider Broncs. She also defeated Wagner in the 2000-2001 season when she was the head coach at Georgia Tech.

All-Time Vs. The Big East - Wagner is just 3-26 all-time against the Big East.

Scouting JMU - Like Pitt, James Madison is coming off one of their most successful seasons in school history. The Dukes went 27-6, including 16-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association, and earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament after losing in the CAA Title Game for the second-straight year. JMU was the No. 9 seed in the East region and fell to the Panthers.

Some might have thought JMU would be down following the graduation of four starters from last year's team. Nothing could be further from the truth as the Dukes sprinted to a 6-0 start, including a 25-point win over No. 22 George Washington and a victory against Wake Forest. Since then the Dukes have lost three-straight to Liberty, Clemson and National Power Maryland.

JMU is led by CAA Preseason Player of the Year senior Tamera Young, who is averaging 19.8 ppg and 10.1 rpg. Freshman Dawn Evans also checks in with 14.0 ppg and a team-best 4.6 apg.

All-Time Vs. JMU - The two teams have met once before in the 1999-2000 season-opener for both teams. The Dukes were victorious by a 74-68 count in Harrisonburg, VA. Current JMU Director of Operations Jess Cichowicz handed out five assists with four points in her collegiate debut.

All-Time Vs. The CAA - Wagner has fared very well against the Colonial Athletic Association going 24-17 against eight of the league's 12 teams, highlighted by an all-time mark of 19-10 vs. Hofstra.

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 a team-best 6.8 ppg, on 57.1 percent (20-35) shooting, including hitting on 76.9 percent (20-26) of her free throws in the final 20 minutes.

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.

Freshmen Coming Of Age - Freshman Ashley Olsen scored a career-high 18 points, on 5-12 shooting, while classmate Stephanie McBride also hit for a career-best with 10 points in Wagner's loss at Saint Peter's (11/27). The pair also was a combined 6-11 from beyond the arc to lead the Wagner bench, which scored 32 points after combining for just 30 over the first three games.

Olsen followed that up with a 14-point outing against Boston College and is seeing her offensive game take off, averaging a team-best 9.8 ppg over her last six games, highlighted by 31.0 percent shooting (9-29) from behind the arc. In her first three games she scored just 3.3 ppg.

On the year, Olsen is averaging 7.7 ppg, fourth-best on the team, while McBride is posting an average of 4.9 ppg.