May 8, 2006

INDIANAPOLIS, IN -Senior Joy Gallagher (Hazleton, PA / Hazleton) has been awarded a $7,500 postgraduate scholarship by the NCAA. Gallagher, a four-year member of the Seahawks' basketball team, was one of 58 selections among student-athletes, who competed during the winter season, and is the first recipient in Wagner College history.

Gallagher carries 3.88 grade point average will graduate later this month with an undergraduate degree in chemistry. She will be returning to Wagner next year to work toward her Master's of Business Administration (MBA).

To qualify for an NCAA postgraduate scholarship, a student-athlete must have an overall grade-point average of 3.200 (on a 4.000 scale) or its equivalent, and must have performed with distinction as a member of the varsity team in the sport in which the student-athlete was nominated. The student-athlete must have behaved, both on and off the field, in a manner that has brought credit to the student-athlete, the institution and intercollegiate athletics. The student-athlete also must intend to continue academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree as a full-time or part-time graduate student.

Gallagher was one of just six Division I women's basketball players to earn the award joining student-athletes from such renowned institutions such as Stanford, Florida and Kent State.

"It's a great accomplishment for her and our institution," said Athletic Director Walt Hameline. "She stands for everything we look for in a student-athlete."

Gallagher was a two-year captain of the Wagner women's basketball team and finished her career with a school-record 240 three pointers and 1,158 points, 14th most in school history.

As a sophomore in 2003-04, Gallagher set the school single-game three-point record (11) against Boston University, leaving her one shy of the NCAA mark. She also led the NCAA ranks with 3.5 made per game while breaking the school single-season record with 99 3-pt field goals. Since exhausting her basketball eligibility, she has begun playing softball for the Green & White and was one of the major reasons why the Seahawks qualified for the NEC Tournament as she is hitting .346 with seven home runs and 33 RBI. She will have one season of eligibility remaining in softball after this year.