The University’s women’s basketball team picked up their third victory of the season as they defeated former conference foe, the Wagner Seahawks, 82-59 on Friday, Nov. 28 at the Spiro Sports Center. Sophomore guard Helena Kurt paved the way for the Hawks by scoring 14 points and earning the game-high assists with six. All 12 Hawks who made an appearance on the floor scored during the match up. With the win, the Hawks improved their record to 3-1 while the Seahawks fell to 0-4.
Wagner’s Ugo Nwaigwe led her team with 12 points and 10 rebounds while teammates Lyndsay Rowe and Tanasia Russell each contributed 10 points. Their collective effort, while impressive, did not stand par to MU’s individual efforts. Sophomore forward Christina Mitchell posted her second-career double-double game as she collected 11 points and 11 rebounds. Junior guard Jasmine Walker posted 13 points and nine rebounds for the Hawks while sophomore Jenny Horvatinovic had 12 points for the night.
The game’s scoring began when sophomore center Sophie Beaudry made a basket to put the Hawks ahead 2-0. Within the first four minutes of play, Mitchell and Horvatinovic each made a three pointer to further the Hawks lead. Less than five minutes into the game, the Hawks were up 12-4.
MU’s lead started to diminish after multiple opportunities were squandered. A missed layup from senior forward Sara English, a missed jumper from sophomore guard Mia Hopkins and missed three pointers from junior guard Sara Olson, Kurt, and Horvatinovic allowed Wagner to pull ahead, 17-16. Without securing a single point for two minutes of play, it looked as if MU’s momentum shifted in the Seahawks favor.
Although Wagner’s lead increased to four at a point, MU was able to chase their opponent and bring the game to an even 20-20 with eight minutes left in the first half. The Hawks tried to pull away with a layup from Mitchell, however, the Seahawks’s Nwaigwe evened the score with a layup of her own.
The teams exchanged two more points and the Hawks attempted to lead once again as Mitchell made another basket. Junior guard Jamiyah Bethune increased the lead to four via two free throws. Unfortunately for MU, a missed three pointer from Hopkins allowed Wagner to gain possession, a chance they utilized. With less than three minutes to play in the first half, Wagner was leading 30-28. Scoring halted for the following minute and thirty seconds until Kurt made a basket to tie the game. Heading into half, the score was an even 30-30.
With another 20 minutes on the board, both teams were set on breaking the current tie. Two made free throws from Kurt and one from Beaudry put the Hawks up by three points within the first minute. The Hawks were able to secure the lead for the rest of the game; the closest the Seahawks came to tying their opponent was three minutes later when the score read 35-33. MU’s largest lead of the half was at 24 when the Hawks led the Seahawks, 79-55, with 1:49 to play.
“I’m most proud of the way we really got after it on the defensive end in the second half and were able to shut down Nwajei and Peck, which I think were two big keys for us,” head coach Jenny Palmateer said.
The Hawks will next face MAAC rival Marist at the James J McCann Center on Friday, Dec. 5. Marist’s won both matchups against the Hawks last season; the first 65-40 and the second 83-52.
