FAIRFIELD, CONN. (February 9, 2015)—Hannah Kimmel's (Harpursville, N.Y.) 27-point 17-rebound performance led the Sacred Heart women's basketball team to victory over Wagner 73-60 Monday night on Coach Bike Court. Teammate Adaysha Williams (LaCrosse, Wis.) posted her second career double-double tallying 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds as the Pioneers improve to 12-9 and 7-4 in Northeast Conference play.
Wagner's Jasmine Nwajei, who is second in the nation in scoring, led all players with 36 points as her team falls to 5-18 on the season and 3-9 against conference opponents.
The Seahawks put the first four points on the board for an early lead, but Gabrielle Washington (Mesa, Ariz.) and Hannah Kimmel (Harpursville, N.Y.) combined for five points to give SHU its first lead of the game. The red-shirt junior recorded 13 points and 10 rebounds with five minutes remaining in the first half for her ninth double-double of the season.
Wagner reclaimed the lead 10-9 on a Samantha Sullivan layup, but Kimmel quickly answered with back-to-back treys to put the Pioneers back on top 15-10.
With Sacred Heart up by five points, Washington, coming in off a short water break on the bench, drove the lane for a layup sparking a 13-3 Pioneer run to improve SHU's lead to 31-17 with 4:30 remaining in the half.
The Seahawks chipped away at Sacred Heart's lead with baskets from Jordyn Peck and Jackie Dluhi. With eight seconds on the clock, Peck landed a jumper cutting the Pioneer lead to 10 points, but Katie Shepard (Lone Tree, Colo.) had the final say getting her fast break layup out of her hands as the buzzer went off to send SHU into the locker room with a 39-27 lead.
Wagner started the second half with a triple from Nwajei as the teams exchanged points in the opening minutes of the half. Kimmel tallied eight points on the Pioneers' first three possessions helping SHU maintain its lead.
With just over 13 minutes on the clock, Sophia Roma kick-started Wagner's come back with a jumper starting a 12-point Seahawk streak that minimized Sacred Heart's lead to just three points, 51-48, with 10:52 left to play. Getting the ball under the hoop, Katherine Haines (Ridgefield Park, N.J.) halted the run banking the ball in.
The rookie got the Pioneer offense back in gear as baskets from Haines, Williams, Washington and Lerae Ettienne (Kensington, Md.) expanded the SHU's lead back to 11 points, 59-48, before the seven-minute mark.
The Pioneers kick off a three-game road trip Saturday when they head to St. Francis Brooklyn for a Valentines Day doubleheader with against the Terriers.
