Press Conference
JERSEY CITY, NJ - The Saint Peter's University women's basketball team fell to local neighbor Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) on Saturday afternoon, dropping a 77-71 decision. Despite leading by 10 points at the end of the first half, the Peacocks were unable to maintain the lead for the final 20 minutes. The Peacocks were also short-staffed on Saturday, with only seven players dressing due to injuries. Redshirt juniors
Taiah Thornton and
Gabrielle Harris each had strong outings for the Peacocks, scoring 19 and 15 points, respectively.
How It Happened
- Thornton started things off strong for the Peacocks, scoring a triple from the corner on the first shot of the game.
- Harris would follow it up with two consecutive deep shots of her own, giving the Peacocks a 9-0 advantage just over two minutes into the game.
- Wil'lisha Jackson got in on the action with a three of her own with 7:24 left in the opening stanza, putting the Peacocks ahead 12-0.
- With under five minutes left in the first quarter, Jackson grabbed a steal off an FDU pass and brought it down the court before feeding Kendrea Williams for the easy layup
- Williams hit her first triple of the day with less than 10 seconds left in the first quarter to send the Peacocks into the break up 19-16.
- Yamel Abreu sank the first shot of the second quarter for the Peacocks, knocking down a jumper from just inside the arc after putting her defender on their heels.
- Williams would draw a foul from three-point range with 7:18 left in the half, hitting all three subsequent free throws.
- Thornton would bring the Peacocks back up to a 12-point lead after grabbing a rebound and bringing the ball up the floor. The junior would secure the extra point after drawing a foul on a successful layup, giving the Peacocks a 33-21 lead with just under three minutes left in the half.
- Heading into the half, the Peacocks would extend their lead to 10 points, holding a 38-28 advantage over the Knights.
- Thornton would also score the first points of the second half for the Peacocks, dropping in a nice tear-dropper from inside the paint.
- Briyanah Richadson hit her first shot of the day after putting in a contested layup five minutes into the third quarter.
- With less than a minute left in the third quarter, Richardson would grab her third steal of the day.
- Thornton and Harris would go back-to-back to give the Peacocks a much-needed 7-0 run early in the fourth quarter, eventually bringing the score to within one point with the Knights leading 58-57.
- Peacocks would reclaim the lead with six and a half minutes remaining in the game following a successful layup from Williams.
- Jackson would hit her second triple of the day late in the fourth quarter to bring the score to 70-62 in favor of FDU.
- Richardson managed to score five points within one minute of play late in the fourth quarter, including a three-point play after drawing a foul on a layup.
Inside The Numbers:
- The first four shots from the Peacocks were from beyond the arc, which stands as the best offensive start for the team this season.
- The largest lead of the day for the Peacocks came early in the first quarter, when the squad was leading 12-0.
- At the end of the first half, both Thornton and Williams had already scored in double figures.
- Richardson finished the game with a season-high eight assists while scoring seven points and grabbing three rebounds.
- Jackson and Abreu led the squad in rebounds, grabbing six boards each.
- The Knights gained their first lead of the day with just over two minutes left in the third quarter, bringing the score to 50-48.
- The Peacocks would regain the lead once more in the game, following a successful shot from Jackson to put the Peacocks up 59-58 with 6:26 left in the fourth quarter.
Up Next:
- The Peacocks will remain in Jersey City as they prepare to welcome Lehigh on Sunday, Dec. 29 for a 1 p.m. tip.
