The Saint Peter's College women's basketball team fell 61-52 to the Niagara Purple Eagles Monday evening. Jynae Judson led Saint Peter's with 14 points, while Quiana Porter added 13 points, 7 rebounds. The Peahens are now 0-15, 0-4 MAAC on the season, while the Purple Eagles improve to 5-11. 2-2 MAAC.
After falling behind 8-4 early on, the Peahens put together a 6-2 run to take their first lead of the game, 11-10, off a Jynae Judson jumper at 13:52. The Purple Eagles immediately responded on the other end to regain their lead with a made basket by Meghan McGuinness.
Just over a minute later, Saint Peter's would commit a turnover, and the Purple Eagles capitalized on the mistake with a three (15-11) from McGuinness. A two-pointer from Judson made the score 15-13, but McGuiness drained her second consecutive basket from beyond the arc to extend Niagara's lead to five points.
A field goal by Lauren Morris at 10:39 brought the Peahens within three again, but Chanel Johnson accounted for 6 of the Purple Eagles' last 14 points, to send Niagara into the half-time break ahead 32-23.
Saint Peter's started off the second half committing back-to-back turnovers on consecutive possessions, and failed to make their first field goal of the game until the 16:26 minute mark.
Despite the slow start, the Peahens managed to cut a 14 point deficit to just 4, after both Teresa Manigrasso and Quiana Porter converted conventional three-point plays (42-38). On the next play, sophomore guard Khadijah Young came up with a steal, that resulted in another layup by Porter and a two-point game (42-40).
The Purple Eagle's offense quickly heated up, and the home team put together an 11-3 run to regain a double-digit lead with 4:18 left in the frame. Niagara would go 4-4 from the line to close out the 61-52 victory.
Saint Peter's shot 35.3% from the field, and did not register a three-point basket, while Niagara shot 36.8% from the floor and 45.5% from beyond the arc. The last time Saint Peter's failed to connect on a single three-pointer was last year, when they went 0-8 from long distance against Siena College (02/19/11). Each team finished with 35 total rebounds and the Peahens committed 21 turnovers to the Purple Eagle's 16.
Both Judson (14 points) and Porter (13 points) finished in double-digits for the Peahens, while Lauren Morris and Kaydine Bent contributed 6 points a piece. Niagara had three players in double digits, Val McQuade (12 points), Chanel Johnson (10 points) and Kayla Stroman, who led all scorers with 19 points.
The Peahens will return to MAAC action this upcoming Friday, as they faceoff against the Loyola Greyhounds for an 11:30am tip.
