Box Score For the third time this season, the Saint Peter's women's basbetall team was unable to maintain a first-half advantage, and dropped a 62-52 decision to the visiting Canisius College Golden Griffins.
Saint Peter's established an early 11-0 advantage to start the game, holding the Golden Griffins scoreless for the first eight minutes of play. The Peacocks were able to fend off multiple Griff runs to head into the half-time break leading by 10 (30-20).
Canisius opened up the second half with an 11-1 run however to tie the game, and took their first lead at the 13:53 mark. Two tied scores and one lead change occurred in the next three minutes, before the Griffs regained an advantage they would maintain for the remainder of the contest.
Kristal Edwards finished with a team-high 13 points, while Kaydine Bent and Antonia Smith also finished in double-figures with 11 points each.
Bent just missed a double-double, grabbing 9 boards in the loss.
With the loss, Saint Peter's drops to 0-15, 0-4 MAAC, while Canisius improves to 6-9, 3-1 MAAC.
The Peacocks opened up the first half with a commanding 8-0 lead, paced by 4 points from junior guard Aziza May to force an early Golden Griffen timeout at 17:11. Both teams failed to score in the following three and a half minutes, until a threy by Kristal Edwards off the dish from May at 13:38 extended the hosts' lead to 11-0.
Canisius went 0-9 from the field to open the half and committed 7 turnovers until a three-ball by Jen Morabito at 11:51 broke the visitors' scoreless streak (11-3). That would spark an 8-2 run by the Griffs, minimizing the Peacocks' lead to 5 at 13-8 (10:52).
Saint Peter's rattled off seven straight points over the next three minutes however to reopen a double-digit advantage. The visitors chipped away at the deficit and managed to get within 6 with 1:51 to play in the stanza, but the Peacocks were able to head into the half-time breaking leading by ten (30-20).
For the half, Saint Peter's shot 34.2% and were led by Antonia Smith's 9 points. Canisius meanwhile shot just 18.8%, going 6-32 from the floor.
The Griffs roared to life after the intermission, forming an 11-1 run to start the frame and knot the score at 31 (15:50). Saint Peter's regained their advantage thirteen seconds later on a layup by Kaydine Bent.
Three lead changes and two tied scores occurred in the next three minutes, with neither team able to establish a lead larger than 2.
A 9-0 Canisius run soon gave the visitors a seven-point advantage (45-38) with 8:40 left to play. Four consecutive free throws brought the Peacocks within two (46-44) at 6:44, but the Griffs rattled off seven straight points to create their largest lead of the game (11 points) with 3:39 remaining.
Saint Peter's battled back, forming a 6-0 spurt to make it a two-possession game with just over two minutes to play, but the Griffs outscored the hosts 7-2 to secure the victory.
Overall the Peacocks shot 26.8% from the floor, 14.3% from three-point range and 75% from the line. Canisius shot 28.3%, 27.6% and 74.1%, respectively.
The Peacocks went just 6-33 from the floor in the second half, while the Griffs shot 39.3% (11-28).
Canisius out-rebounded Saint Peter's 50-49 and committed 14 turnovers to the hosts' 12.
Three players finished in double-figures for the Golden Griffins; Jamie Ruttle (13), Ashley Durham (13) and Kayla Hoohuli (11).
Saint Peter's returns to action this Thursday, as they host Siena at 6pm in the front-end of a double-header, where the men take on Rider at 8:30pm. Both games will be televised live on ESPN3.
