STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The LIU Brooklyn women's team dealt with injuries and foul trouble late in the game Monday night in the Spiro Sports Center, but managed to take the win from Wagner, 73-63, behind senior Shanice Vaughan's career night. Vaughan led LIU with a career-high 29 points and 10 rebounds, her first double-double for the Blackbirds. Vaughan also had five steals, four assists and a block in the win that put LIU's overall record at 5-12, and 3-3 in the Northeast Conference.

 LIU got things started quickly in the Martin Luther King Jr. day match-up, as sophomore Paris Jones hit a three-pointer right off of tip-off, to give the Blackbirds their first lead of the day, 3-0 at 9:54. Wagner would score five points to answer LIU's early lead, and the two teams battle back and forth for most of the first quarter. LIU started to pull away at 6:42, when senior Jolanna Ford hit a layup that would tie the game up, 9-9. Ford sparked an 11-0 run that would put the Blackbirds up, 18-9 with 4:03 to play in the first quarter. Senior Shanice Vaughan went 5-for-6 from the field with 10 points in the first quarter.

LIU would carry the lead into the second quarter, though sharp long distance shooting from the Seahawks would close the lead down to four points, 32-28 with 3:05 left in the half. In the final minute of play, though, the Blackbirds used Wagner foul trouble to widen the lead back up. LIU would go on an 8-2 run in the final minute of play. Jones and Vaughan both hit layups, while sophomore DeAngelique Waithe went 3-for-4 from the free throw line to give the Blackbirds a 40-30 lead at half time.

In the third quarter, the home team made a push. Wagner would go on a 12-0 run that spanned three minutes, and gave the Seahawks the lead, 44-42, with 4:18 left in the third quarter. The Blackbirds started to battle back, and the two teams would trade baskets until the start of the fourth quarter.

Wagner's sharp shooting from earlier in the game was nowhere to be found in the fourth and final period, as the home team would not score a field goal for over ten minutes of play. And the Blackbirds took advantage. LIU went on a 12-3 tear in the fourth period, including eight points from Vaughan. In the final minute of play, the Seahawks would play the foul game, but LIU went 7-for-10 from the charity stripe in the final minute, and Wagner's last efforts would not be enough, with LIU taking the win, 73-63. With the loss, Wagner falls to 2-15 overall, 0-6 in the NEC.

Up next, LIU will host St. Francis Brooklyn in a game that will be aired nationally on ESPN 3, Saturday, January 23 at 5 p.m.

NOTES FROM THE NEST

• Senior Shanice Vaughan led LIU with 29 points (a career-high), 10 rebounds, five steals, four assists and a block.
• Sophomore Paris Jones added 14 points in the win, while classmate DeAngelique Waithe had a career-high 12 rebounds, along with four points and two steals.
• Senior Jolanna Ford and junior Brianna Farris each had 11 points in the win, with Ford grabbing nine rebounds, and Farris adding five rebounds.