STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.— The Long Island University women's basketball team battled back to force overtime on Monday afternoon but ultimately fell to local rival Wagner, 63-61, at the Spiro Sports Center.

Sophomore Ryan Weise led the Sharks with 16 points to go along with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals and two blocks. Sophomore Brandy Thomas added 15 points and eight rebounds for LIU. Sophomore Kiara Bell collected a game-high 12 rebounds.

GAME BREAKDOWN

LIU opened the game with a 5-2 lead at the 8:38 mark on a jumper by Bell and three-pointer from Weise. Wagner would make it a one-point game on a layup shortly after. LIU made its first run of the game with a 6-2 stretch as a layup from Thomas brought the score to 11-6 in favor of the Sharks with 3:10 to go in the opening quarter. The Seahawks answered with a seven-point run over the next two minutes to take back the lead, 13-11. LIU beat the buzzer to end the quarter to knot the score at 13 as Weise hit Bell with the inbounds pass as the clock expired.

The second quarter was a back-and-forth battle with six lead changes in the period. LIU looked to break the tight contest just under the halfway point in the second quarter with a five-point run on a three-pointer from junior Jeydah Johnson and a layup by junior Mia Perkins to take a 24-20 lead with 3:26 to go in the half. Wagner made the final run of the opening half with a 7-2 closing stretch for a 27-26 lead at the break.

Momentum carried over out of the half for the Seahawks opening in with a 11-4 stretch to take their largest lead of the contest, 38-30 at the 6:42 mark. LIU got going offensively shortly after using an 8-0 run, highlighted by back-to-back three pointers from Weise to tie the game up, 38-38 with 3:34 to go. Both teams traded baskets in the next minute, but the Sharks made the last push of the quarter with a four-point closing stretch to take a 44-40 lead into the fourth quarter.

LIU continued to hold on to the tight lead in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. The Seahawks made a hard push to take back the lead with an 11-0 run to jump ahead 54-48 with 5:05 to go. The Sharks responded out of the timeout with a 8-3 stretch as a three-pointer from graduate student Drew Winter made it a one point game, 57-56 with 1:19 to go. Wagner would convert one free throw with 24 seconds remaining in regulation. The Sharks let the clock tick down in the final possession as Winter drove to the top of the key and connected on the fade-away jumper with five seconds remaining to tie it up 58-58. The game headed into overtime as the Seahawks missed the final shot of the quarter on the inbounds play.

Wagner opened the scoring in overtime with a pair of free throws at 4:17 in extra time. LIU regained the lead on Weise's fourth triple of the game to take the 61-60 lead at the 4:06 mark. Both teams would go quite from the field over the next three and a half minutes. The Seahawks got the go ahead basket on a jump shot with 35 seconds to go. A free throw with 12 seconds brought it to a two-point game. LIU looked to tie the game up in the final seconds but were unable to sink two layup attempts, giving Wagner the 63-61 victory.

SHARK BITES

• Weise led LIU in scoring for the second time this season, netting 16 points on shot 6-of-9 shooting from the field and a 4-for-6 clip from downtown. She had an all-around afternoon contributing seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.
• Thomas added her 13th double-digit scoring effort on Monday afternoon with 15 points (7-of-15) and tallied eight rebounds.
• Bell recorded 12 rebounds for the second straight game, with eight boards coming on the offensive end. She also added seven points and two steals against the Seahawks.
• Johnson tied her season-high with four assists to go with her eight points. Winter also dished out four assists and scored seven points on the day, all in the second half.
• LIU won the battle on the boards for the third straight game, 45-27. The +18 margin on the glass is the highest total for the Sharks this season.

UP NEXT

The Sharks will close out January with matchups against the NEC's Pennsylvania contingent at the Steinberg Wellness Center. LIU will take on Robert Morris first on Saturday, January 25 at 2:00 p.m. in the opening game of a doubleheader with the men's teams.