STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team will travel over the Verrazano Bridge Monday evening, to take on cross-borough rival Wagner, in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day match-up, set to begin at 7 p.m. in the Spiro Sports Center. LIU (4-12, 2-3 NEC) will be looking to snap a three-game losing streak, while the Seahawks (2-14, 0-5 NEC) will vying for their first Northeast Conference win of the season.
LAST TIME OUT• The Blackbirds fell to league-leading Bryant in the Chace Athletic Center Saturday afternoon, 63-55. LIU was led by senior
Shanice Vaughan's 21 points, including eight in the final three minutes of the game.
• Senior
Jolanna Ford added 10 points and nine rebounds, while junior
Shanovia Dove had 10 points and four rebounds.
ALL-TIME SERIES• Wagner and LIU will face off in the 79th meeting between the two programs, a rivalry that dates back to 1967.
• In recent history, it's been a back and forth affair - in the last three seasons, the teams have split wins down the middle. In both 2014-15 and 2013-14, Wagner won the Staten Island battle, while the Blackbirds took the win in Brooklyn. In 2012-13, the locations flipped, but the teams still split, with both teams winning on the road.
• Last season, Wagner won at home, 72-69, behind Jasmine Nwajei's 37 points, 23 of which came in the second half.
• The Blackbirds battled back to win the second match-up of the season in Brooklyn, 75-47. LIU was led by
Shanovia Dove's then-career-high 26 points. Dove shot 67 percent from the field (9-for-13). She also had five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Jolanna Ford chipped in 13 points, two blocks, and a team-high eight rebounds, while
Shanice Vaughan had five rebounds, four steals and four assists. LIU held Nwajei to just 15 points in the victory.
SCOUTING THE SEAHAWKS• Wagner enters Monday's matchup winless in the NEC, at 2-14 overall, 0-5 in conference action. The Seahawks will also be looking to snap a nine match losing streak.
• Wagner has lost each of its first five NEC games by at least ten points. The Seahawks have suffered losses at SFU (93-78), at Robert Morris (64-44), against Bryant at home (82-71), at Sacred Heart (73-62), and most recently, against CCSU at home Saturday (62-52).
• Wagner is led by junior guard Jasmine Nwajei, one of the top scorers in the nation. She owns two of the top four scoring games in NCAA Division I this season, including a school-record 45-point outburst vs. Stony Brook on December 18, that is the top scoring game in the nation to this point. She also scored 42 points in Wagner's loss to SFU. She is ranked No. 4 nationally in scoring at 24.4 points per game, and ups that average to a 31.0 points per game average in NEC play.
• But the Seahawks will be a little short-handed against LIU this weekend, as their second and third leaving scorers are both injured. Senior Jordyn Peck (8.8 points per game) and senior guard Alexis Smith (7.2 points per game) both missed a chunk of the season with injury.
• Sophomore guard Tanasia Russell has stepped up in their stead, and averages 11.0 points per game over the last five contests.
• Defensively, sophomore forward Sofia Roma holds it down for Wagner. Roma, who had 20 rebounds against the Blue Devils Saturday, is currently second in the NEC in rebounds per game, with a 10.0 average. In conference play, that average goes up to 14.0 per game. Roma also leads the Seahawks with 36 blocks so far this season.