Game Notes
Brooklyn, N.Y. - The Long Island University women's basketball team returns home for a Northeast Conference
matchup with Wagner on Monday evening. The contest can be heard live on Red Zone Media here, and live stats are also available starting at 7:00 p.m. here.
Today's Storylines
• The Blackbirds had a four-game winning streak snapped in a heartbreaking 44-43 loss at Mount St. Mary's. LIU held a 43-42 lead with under 10 seconds left but saw the Mount score the game-winner with 8.5 seconds left.
• Senior Ashley Palmer once again led Long Island with 17 points and also had eight rebounds. The Oxford, Pa. native is averaging 20.2 points and 8.7 rebounds over her last six contests.
• Palmer recently moved into second place on LIU's all-time scoring list with 1,577 points, passing Kim Mac Millan (1999-02). The 5-10 forward is 168 shy of the top spot held by Tamika Dudley (1999-03).
• Long Island matched the best start in program history through six games with a 64-52 win over Albany on Nov. 30. The 5-1 start had been done twice before by Blackbird teams (1968-69 & 1976-77).
• Senior Kiara Evans dished out a season-high seven assists in the win over Albany on Nov. 30, and is now 10 shy of Coleen McGlynn (1988-92) for third place on LIU's career list.
• Long Island swept the season series with Wagner last season, winning by an average of 10.5 points per game. The Blackbirds averaged 12.0 steals per game over two games, with Palmer and Evans leading the way by averaging a combined 26.0 points over two games.
Rewind: Mount St. Mary's
•Long Island led by as many as 12 points in the second half but went on a scoring drought over a span of five minutes, 39 seconds to allow the Mount back into the contest.
•Rachel Mathews made two free throws with 2:27 left to give the Mountaineers their first lead of the game, 42-41.
•A pair from the charity stripe from She'tiarra Pledger regained the lead for LIU with 22.7 seconds left, but Ashley Christie made a running left-handed layup with 8.5 seconds left to give MSM the win.
•Long Island led for all but two minutes and 11 seconds of the contest.
Palmer Moves Up Charts
•Ashley Palmer has been on a scoring tear of late, averaging 20.2 points over the last six contests.
•The 5-10 forward is now within 168 points of LIU's all-time career scoring record of 1,745 set by Tamika Dudley.
•Palmer's eight rebounds against Mount St. Mary's gave her 819 for her career, good for 8th all-time. She's 33 shy of seventh place on the list, currently held by Sandra Felix (1981-85).
•She is also 24 field goals away from tying Dudley for the career field-goals made mark of 658.
•Palmer also ranks sixth on the field-goals attempted list (1,318), third in free-throws made (271) and fifth in free-throws attempted (413).
Block Party
•Junior Ebony Davis has been a menace for opposing offenses in the paint in the early going of the season.
•Davis has come within one block of LIU's single-game record in two games, swatting four shots against both La Salle and Albany.
•On the season, Davis has 16 blocks -- just one away from last season's team high of 17 held by Chelsi Johnson.
•Davis is already just 11 blocks away from 10th place on the LIU single-season chart.
Getting Defensive
•Long Island has held its opponents to 35.0 percent shooting over the first seven games of 2011-12, including a 26.7 mark from three-point range.
•Against Mount on Wednesday, the Blackbirds held the Mountaineers to just 26.9 percent from the floor in the opening half.
•Last season, teams shot 37.9 percent from the floor and just 31.7 percent from beyond the three-point line.
•The Blackbirds are allowing 55.3 points per game, down from 59.0 last year.
Last Season's Series
•Long Island swept Wagner in their two contests a year ago.
•On Jan. 15, the Blackbirds broke open a onepoint game at halftime and ran away with a 67-50 victory at the Wellness Center.
•Chelsi Johnson had a team-high 16 points while Kiara Evans chipped in with 11.
•Conversely, LIU ran out to a big early lead in the first half and held on for a 61-57 win in Staten Island on Feb. 19. Evans had 14 points, seven assists and five boards in the win.
Scouting Wagner
•The Seahawks enter the contest on Monday with a 1-0 NEC record by virtue of their 49-45 win over St. Francis (N.Y.) on Saturday.
•Kelly Clark leads the team and is the only Wagner player averaging double figures in scoring at 14.3 ppg.
•Clark dominated the Terriers, going for 23 points and 11 rebounds in the win.