NEC Women's Basketball Website

2014 NEC Women's Basketball Tournament Headquarters

Staten Island, NY – On its way to garnering a berth in the 2014 Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament, which mark's the program's first league tourney appearance in four years, the Wagner women's basketball team has compiled a plethora of team and individual honors.

By any matrix or measure, the Seahawks are the NEC's most improved team this season, having gone 2-16 in conference a year ago and 3-26 overall. Picked 10th in the 2014 NEC Pre-season Poll, with one of the nation's youngest rosters, an 11-person unit that features nine of 11 players in either their first or second years of eligibility, the Seahawks faced one of the nation's toughest non-conference schedules.

This season's out of conference slate  featured games vs. power-conference programs Kentucky, Rutgers, VCU, Pittsburgh and Seton Hall. Second-year head coach Lisa Cermignano designed this demanding non-league schedule as preparation for NEC play, and the dividends have paid off handsomely, with the Seahawks currently sporting an 8-8 conference mark and overall record of 9-18.

Redshirt sophomore center Ugo Nwaigwe (Valley Stream, NY/Valley Stream South) earned Wagner's first NEC Player of the Week honor in 10 years on February 18, one day after she recorded the school's first-ever triple-double (12 points, 19 rebounds, 13 blocks) in a win over Fairleigh Dickinson that was seen on ESPN3. The 6-3 Nwaigwe ranks No. 2 in the nation in blocked shots per game and tops the NEC in blocks (4.88), rebounding (10.7), and field goal percentage (.632).

Freshman point guard Jasmine Nwajei has been stellar right from the get-go this season. Signaling her arrival by scoring the game's first five points en route to a 19-point performance vs. No. 7 Kentucky in the November 10 season opener, she has gone on to tie the school record with six NEC Rookie of the Week honors to her credit, equaling the six rookie honors copped by Meredith Kearns in 1998-199. The dynamic 5-8 New York City guard currently ranks No. 1 in the NEC in assists (5.67), No. 2 in scoring (22.7), and No. 8 in steals (1.93).

Sweet-shooting left-handed sophomore guard Jordyn Peck (Shaker Heights, OH/Shaker Heights) has also been one of the NEC's standout performers all season. The 5-6 Peck, who tossed in a career-high 30 points vs. Central Connecticut on January 11, is T-3rd in the conference with 2.19 three-pointer field goals made per game, in addition to ranking No. 4 in scoring (20.3) and No. 6 in free throw percentage (.868).

The Seahawks have clinched their first Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament appearance in four years following Monday's comeback win at Central Connecticut and enter the final two regular season games this weekend tied for sixth in the league standings.

The Seahawks host Mount St. Mary's on Senior Day this Saturday, March 1 at 1:00 pm. before closing the regular season with a date at Saint Francis U on Monday, March 3 at 7:00 pm. These two games, in combination with the results of all of the other NEC teams competing this weekend, will determine the seed that Wagner will earn for the tournament.

The top four seeds will host NEC Tournament First-Round games, to be played on March 9. While many scenarios will remain up in the air until the regular season concludes on Monday. At this moment, the Seahawks remain alive to potentially host a first-round game based largely on their win over first-place Robert Morris and owning the tie-breaker vs. St. Francis Brooklyn (currently tied for third) by virtue of sweeping the season series with the Terriers.

To view the current NEC standings and gather further information on the conference, log on to the NEC website by clicking HERE.

To access the 2014 NEC Tournament Headquarters, click HERE.


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Follow Wagner Athletics on Twitter (@wagnerathletics) for all the latest news and updates on the athletic department, @WagSwagg_WBB for news and updates on the women's basketball program and @CERMIGNANO for news on the second-year coach