BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team is entering the final stretch of the regular season, and hosts one of the most important games of that stretch in the Steinberg Wellness Center this Saturday, February 21. The Blackbirds (7-18, 4-10 NEC) will host Wagner (6-19, 4-10 NEC) at 2 p.m., in a game that could have serious post-season implications. The two teams are currently in a three-way tie for the final playoff spot, along with surging Saint Francis U. LIU will be looking to snap a three-game skid, and cement a playoff spot with help from a win over the Seahawks.
Saturday will be a busy day for the Blackbirds. LIU will be hosting its' annual Play 4 Kay Game, to raise money for breast cancer research and awareness. The Blackbirds will be wearing pink to show support, as well as selling pink t-shirts, and collection donations for the American Cancer Society. LIU will also be hosting Alumni Day in the Steinberg Center, welcoming past players back to the Bird's Nest.
Saturday also marks Senior Day for the program's two graduating players:
Ashley Brown and
Letava Whippy will be honored prior to the start of the game, in one of their final contests in the Steinberg Wellness Center.
BLACKBIRD BITS• Most recently, the LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team had a hard-fought loss in the Sewall Center Monday night, as the Blackbirds were within three points of the defending Northeast Conference champions twice, before falling to Robert Morris, 67-46.
• Junior guard
Sophie Bhasin led LIU with 10 points.
• Senior
Letava Whippy had a complete game for the Blackbirds, with nine points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.
• Sophomore
Brianna Farris had nine points, going 3-for-5 from long distance.
ALL TIME SERIES• In one of the longest rivalries, LIU and Wagner's all-time series dates back to 1967, with the Seahawks holding a slight 42-38 advantage.
• Most recently, the two teams met in January, on Staten Island. In that game, LIU led Wagner by as many as 17 points, but the Blackbirds could not stop a surging Seahawks squad, and Wagner beat LIU, 72-69. Junior
Sophie Bhasin set a career-high, scoring 35 points in the loss.
• Wagner's Jasmine Nwajei shot 50% from the field to lead all players with 37 points, including going 4-for-6 from behind the arc. She also had a game-high six steals.
• Bhasin shot 66.7% from the field, 66.7% from behind the arc, and 92 percent from the free throw line (11-12), finishing with 35 points, five rebounds and four steals.
• Recent history is on LIU's side for Saturday's game, however, as in both 2012-13 and 2013-14, Wagner won the first meeting of the two teams, before LIU bounced back to win the second game, splitting the series.
SCOUTING THE SEAHAWKS• Wagner comes into Saturday's game 6-19 overall, 4-10 in NEC play. Last weekend, the Seahawks beat FDU on Staten Island, 82-75, before falling to St. Francis Brooklyn Monday night, 67-55.
• Sophomore guard Jasmie Nwajei has only improved as the season has gone on. Since putting up 37 points against the Blackbirds in January, she has bumped her scoring average up. Nwajei now averages 25.2 points per game, a figure that not only leads her team and the Northeast Conference, but all of NCAA Division I women's basketball.
• Nwajei had led Wagner in scoring 20 times this season. She also leads the team and the NEC in steals per game (3.32, 83 total steals), is fifth in the conference in assists (3.8 per game), and leads her team in rebounding (6.4 per game)
• Junior guard Jordyn Peck is next on the team in scoring, with 12.7 points per game.
SOPHIE SHOOTS!• Junior
Sophie Bhasin, who leads LIU with 16.1 points per game, is now on a milestone watch, hoping to become the Blackbirds' next 1,000-point scorer.
• The guard has scored 403 points so far this season, bumping her career total up to 901 points.
• Bhasin would become the 19th player in program history to hit the 1,000-point mark, after
Cleandra Roberts achieved that milestone last season.