The Saint Peter's College womens's basketball team failed to take down #1 seed Marist College in the quarterfinal round of the MAAC Championship Tournament, and were defeated 74-49. Marist led from beginning to end, outscoring the eighth seeded Peahens 9-0 in the first four minutes of the game. Three players finished in double-figures for SPC for the second consecutive game, with Lauren Morris's 15 points leading the squad. This marks the second consecutive year that the Red Foxes have defeated the Peahens in the second round of playoffs. Saint Peter's concludes the 2011-12 season with a 5-25, 5-15 MAAC record, while Marist improves to 23-7, 18-1 MAAC.
The Red Foxes opened up the game on a 9-0 run to enter the first media timeout, with the Peahens shooting 0-6 from the field. Lauren Morris paced the Peahen offense in the early going, scoring their first four points and bringing SPC within seven at 11-4.
Marist continued to forge forward, outscoring Saint Peter's by a 6-1 margin (17-5) over the following three and a half minutes. A trifecta from Morris made the score 20-12 at 9:14, but Casey Dulin would drain a trey on the other end to allow Marist to reestablish a double-digit lead.
Marist closed out the first frame on a 12-2 run, with 6 points from Dulin, to head into the half-time break with a 36-18 advantage.
Saint Peter's shot a season low, single-half shooting percentage of 17.6%, going 6-34 from the floor and 1-4 from long distance. Their 18 points also ties for the fourth-lowest single-half point total this season.
Lauren Morris finished with 7 points in the stanza, while Aminah Davis added 5 (3-4 FT).
Marist shot 50% from both the field (12-24) and three-point range (4-8) in the frame. Casey Dulin led the Red Foxes, and all scorers, in the half with 13 points, shooting a perfect 5-5 from the floor, including 2-2 from beyond the arc.
While both teams opened up the frame exchanging baskets, Marist was able to establish their largest lead of the game, 21 points, three minutes in at 44-23. The Peahens were able to cut the deficit to 14 points (49-35), following a three-ball from Judson in the tenth minute to force Marist Head Coach Brian Giorgis to burn a 30 second timeout.
Marist came out of the timeout on a 9-2 run, with 5 points coming from Kelsey Beynnon and 4 from Leanne Ockenden, to put the Defending MAAC champs ahead 58-37. The Red Foxes outscored the Peahens by a 16-12 margin in the remaining seven minutes to secure the 74-49 victory and advance to the semi-final round of the tournament.
Overall, the Peahens shot a season-low 23.6% from the field and 28.6% from three point-range, while the Red Foxes shot 49.1% and 47.1%, respectively. SPC finished with 41 rebounds, to Marist's 47, and committed 13 turnovers, while forcing 17.
For the Peahens, Lauren Morris was just one board shy of a double-double (9 rebounds) in addition to her 15 points. Jynae Judson (11 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists) and Aminah Davis (10 points) also recorded double-digit points for SPC.
Judson concludes her career as the 12th all-time leading scorer in Peahen history (1,201 career points) and 11th all-time in rebounds (676 career caroms).
Marist had four players in double-figures: Casey Dulin (20 points), Leanne Ockenden (15 points) Corielle Yarde (12 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists) and Brandy Gang (10 points).
