Box Score JERSEY CITY, N.J. - Siena defeated Saint Peter's 65-40 in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) women's basketball contest on Sunday afternoon.
Alyssa Velles (Franklin, Conn. / Norwich Free Academy) paced the Peacocks (1-11, 1-3 MAAC) with 15 points. Hala Mostafa (Cairo, Egypt / Modern Narmer Language School) finished with six points, seven rebounds and four blocks. Sajanna Bethea (Levittown, Pa. / Pennsbury) recorded eight points and two rebounds in the losing effort.
Margot Hetzke paced the Saints (8-5, 1-3 MAAC) with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Kollyns Scarbrough finished with 15 points and seven rebounds while Emia Willingham tallied 11 points and five rebounds in the victory.
Siena used a second half run to pull from Saint Peter's for its first conference victory of the season.
In the opening stanza, the two teams exchanged baskets to knot the game at four. The Saints used a 7-0 run, capped off by a field goal from Scarbroough at 13:14 to take an 11-4 lead.
Saint Peter's cut into the deficit with consecutive baskets from Neechelle Ingram (Pocono Summit, Pa. / Pocono Mountain East) and Talah Hughes (Beacon, N.Y. / Beacon) to only trail 11-8. Siena extended its lead with back-to-back baskets to hold a 15-8 advantage. The Peacocks answered with a 3-pointer from Velles at 7:33 to cut the deficit.
Trailing 18-13 with 4:37 left in the half, Velles knocked down consecutive buckets to trail by two. The Saints countered with three unanswered points to extend their lead. Saint Peter's ended the half with a 3-ball from Velles to trail 23-20 heading into the locker room.
Siena opened up the second half with a 12-2 run, fueled by five points from Scarbrough, to hold a 35-22 lead. Following a free throw from Hughes, the Saints scored on two straight possessions to extend their lead.
Following a pair of free throws from Mostafa to cut into the deficit, Siena scored seven straight points to lead 48-27 with 6:51 left on the clock. Siena outscored the Peacocks 17-13 in the final six minutes en route to the 65-40 win.
Ingram finished with four points and two steals, while Hughes tallied three points and two rebounds. Antonia Smith (Bronx, N.Y. / Dwight School) finished a career-high of five assists in the contest.
Saint Peter's returns to action on Jan. 9, when the team travels to Connecticut for an early morning contest against Fairfield. Game time is slated for 11 a.m.
