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BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team returns home for the final two games of the season in the Steinberg Wellness Center. Saturday, February 22, the Blackbirds host Wagner on National Girls & Women in Sports Day, with tip-off scheduled for 2 p.m. The first 50 female LIU students in attendance will receive a $10 Applebee's gift card.
The game is a must-win for the Blackbirds, heading into the final two weeks of the regular season. LIU currently sits in eighth place in the Northeast Conference, in what will be the final playoff spot. The Blackbirds have not clinched a post-season berth yet, as CCSU is still nipping at their heels. The Blue Devils are just two games behind LIU with four games left to play, and as the NEC has proven all season long, anything can happen on any given Saturday.
• LIU opened the NEC season on the road at Wagner in January, and fell to the Seahawks, 71-65 on Staten Island. LIU led by as many as 12 points in the first half, but could not hold off the Seahawks offensive surge in the second half. Letava Whippy led LIU with 16 points, while Cleandra Roberts had 15 points and eight rebounds. Sophie Bhasin added 15 points, while senior Fanny Cavallo had a double-double, with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Seahawks were led by freshman Jasmine Nwajei, who was two assists shy of a triple double. Nwajei finished the game with 20 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, while sophomore Jordan Peck also had 20 points for Wagner
• The Blackbirds are coming off one of the toughest losses of the season. LIU fell to the top team in the NEC Monday, as Robert Morris beat the Blackbirds in Sewall Arena, 79-43. Sophomore Sophie Bhasin led LIU with eight points, while freshmen Aleisha Myers and Brianna Farris would add seven and six points, respectively. RMU senior Artemis Spanou led all players, with 18 rebounds, along with 14 points. The Colonials had four players score in double-digits in the win.
ALL-TIME SERIES
• This Saturday's matchup will be the 79th between the Seahawks and Blackbirds. Wagner has the all-time advantage, 41-37, but LIU has won seven of the last nine meetings.
SCOUTING THE SEAHAWKS
• Wagner has won three-straight games, to even up its NEC record at 7-7 overall, back in the thick of the playoff hunt.
• The Seahawks have been led by the outstanding play of two young athletes: sophomore center Ugo Nwaigwe, and freshman point guard Jasmine Nwajei. The current NEC Player and Rookie of the Week, the duo has helped lead Wagner to the most league wins for the Seahawks since the 2003-2004 season.
• Nwaigwe, now ranked second nationally in blocks per game (4.04), set a school record earlier this week, when she had 13 blocks in Wagner's win over FDU. She also had 19 rebounds and 12 points, earning the triple-double. She has 101 blocks this season, a new program record in a single season.
• Nwajei, the fifth-leading freshman scorer in the nation, was just one assist away from a triple-double as well on Monday, as she had 29 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists against the Knights. She has scored 20+ points in seven straight games, a streak she'll be looking to continue in the Steinberg Center Saturday.
• Meanwhile, sophomore guard Jordan Peck continues to lead the Seahawks in scoring, averaging 18.6 points per game. Peck is the team's leading long-rang shooter, as she's made 59 threes this season, shooting 36.2 percent from behind the arc.