WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Saint Peter's University women's basketball team dropped a 92-80 decision to Howard University in the final game of its season-opening four-game road stretch. The Peacocks made a strong effort to rally in the fourth quarter, but the Bison were too far out of reach to regain the lead. Redshirt-juniors
Gabrielle Harris and
Taiah Thornton each recorded 18 points to lead Saint Peter's on the offensive front.
How It Happened
- The Peacocks started the game off strong, with sophomore forward Wil'lisha Jackson knocking down the first triple of the day just 34 seconds into the first quarter and giving the Peacocks a 7-2 lead.
- The Peacocks put up six more points throughout the remainder of the opening stanza and finished the quarter trailing 13-20.
- Roughly two minutes in to the start of the second quarter, sophomore guard Tyara McQueen hit back-to-back three-pointers to bring the Peacocks within six points with the board reading 23-17 in favor of Howard.
- Harris would reclaim a 29-28 lead for the Peacocks with 6:42 remaining in the half, after drawing a shooting foul while driving to the basket and hitting both free throws.
- Sophomore Phylina Holmes recorded her first points of the day on a successful layup off a nice feed from McQueen with 2:34 left in the half.
- Coming out of the break, the Peacocks fell to their largest deficit of the season, trailing by as much as 23 points during the third quarter.
- Saint Peter's would not give up without a fight though, and had their strongest showing of the game in the fourth quarter, with Holmes and Thornton leading the charge and recording six and nine points in the quarter, respectively.
Inside The Numbers:
- The Peacocks' found themselves down 46-38 after two quarters of play, the largest negative margin for the team thus far this season.
- Despite trailing by as many as 23 points in the third quarter, the Peacocks saw an offensive explosion in the fourth, scoring 27 points compared to Howard's 19.
- Harris (18), Thornton (18), Holmes (12), and McQueen (10) all scored in double-digits in Sunday's game.
- Holmes' 12 points marks the sophomore's best game of her collegiate career, while adding six rebounds, an assist, two blocks and one steal.
- Harris and Thornton have each scored more than 15 points in three of the Peacocks' four games this season, with both players averaging 16.3 points per game.
- Despite dropping the contest, the Peacocks have now put up at least 80 points in all four games this season, which has not been accomplished by the program since the 1996-97 season.
Coach's Quotes - Marc Mitchell
- "Heartbreaker. We lost to a very good team, which is well coached by coach Ty Grace."
- "Loved our resiliency in the fourth quarter."
Up Next:
- The Peacocks return to Jersey City for their home opener against Morgan State on Nov. 26 for a 5 p.m. opening tip.
