Box Score
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Staten Island, N.Y. – The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team received key contributions off the bench as it improved to 15-5 on the season with a 67-60 victory over Wagner on Monday evening at the Spiro Center. Junior Ebony Davis led the way with 17 points, eight rebounds and three blocks as 40 of the Blackbirds' 67 points came from their reserves.
Sophomore Cleandra Roberts came off the bench to chip in with 12 points – all in the second half – along with four assists and a pair of steals for the Blackbirds. Senior Kiara Evans added nine points and dished out four assists, to go along with a pair of blocks in the winning effort.
LIU began the contest on a 10-0 run, as junior Krystal Wells connected on a pair from three-point range. The Blackbird lead grew to as many as 11 in the first half, after two free throws from senior Ashley Palmer at the 4:16 mark put the score at 25-14.
The Seahawks would battle back, however, and closed the half on a 6-0 run that trimmed the LIU lead to 25-20 going into the break. Wagner was forced into 16 turnovers in the opening period but stifled the Blackbirds offense to the tune of 25.0 percent shooting from the field.
Every time it looked like the Blackbirds were poised to run away with things in the second half, Wagner hit a shot to keep the home team within striking distance. A layup from Palmer bumped the LIU lead to seven at 30-23, before back-to-back buckets from Brittney Thorpe and Kelly Clark cut the cushion to three.
Three straight points by the Blackbirds re-upped the advantage to six, before four consecutive points from Clark closed Wagner to within two points at 33-31 with 11:55 to play.
The Blackbirds responded with eight straight points, as Davis closed out the 8-0 run with an offensive putback to push the lead back to double-figures at 41-31 at the 9:42 mark.
The Seahawks came right back with a three-pointer from Marie-Laurence Archambault, and on their next possession Archambault was fouled on a three-point attempt and cashed in on all three of her free throws to bring Wagner to within four at 41-37 with 8:39 left.
Another 8-0 run, capped by consecutive hoops from Roberts, extended the LIU lead to 49-37 with 6:10 left. Two free throws from the Miami, Fla. native pushed the advantage to 55-41 with 3:53 to go, before Wagner hit two trifectas as part of an 8-2 spurt over 1:33 that put the score at 57-49.
Forced to go to the foul line to seal the win, LIU went 10-for-12 from the charity stripe over the final two minutes of action. Evans hit all six of her attempts in the span to help the Blackbirds even their Northeast Conference record at 4-4.
Archambault was the leading scorer with 14 points for the Seahawks, who fell to 2-17 on the season and 1-7 in NEC play. Palmer continued her consecutive double-digit scoring streak to 19 games with 15 points and added seven rebounds for LIU Brooklyn.
The Blackbirds continue their three-game road trip with a trip to Western Pennsylvania to take on Saint Francis (Pa.) and Robert Morris. The weekend begins with a tilt with the Red Flash on Saturday, Jan. 28.