Postgame Press Conference
JERSEY CITY, NJ - The Saint Peter's University women's basketball team fell to the Monmouth Hawks 81-67 on Tuesday night, falling to their hOURglass rival after leading early in the game.
Junior guard,
Kendrea Williams gave sparks to the Peacocks' offensive effort throughout the night, registering a team-high 19 points, including four shots from beyond the arc while also converting on three out of four free throws on the night. Classmate
Taiah Thornton and sophomore
Wil'lisha Jackson also put up double digit performances on the night, scoring 14 and 10, respectively.
How It Happened
- The Peacocks jumped out to an early 4-2 lead off of two consecutive buckets from Jackson after three minutes of play in the first quarter.
- The Hawks gained their first lead of the game late in the third quarter, going up 10-7 before Williams sunk her second triple of the quarter, evening out the scoreboard.
- After a first quarter that went back-and-forth for both teams, the scoreboard read even at 18-18.
- Saint Peter's went scoreless for the first three minutes of the second stanza, trailing Monmouth 26-18 after the Hawks went on an 8-0 run to start the quarter. The Peacocks' first point of the second quarter came on a free throw from Yamel Abreu, bringing the score to 26-19 in favor of Monmouth.
- The Peacocks would finish the half down 34-26, with four out of Saint Peter's eight points from the period coming from the charity stripe.
- The two sides went tic for tac to start the second half, before Monmouth began to pull away once more, extending their lead to 48-30 midway through the third quarter.
- Williams would do her best to give a boost to the Peacocks offense, hitting her third triple of the night off the feed from Briyanah Richardson with just under five minutes left in the third quarter. The Hawks offense was unrelenting, however, going up 56-35 with three minutes left in the period.
- The Peacocks would go on a 9-4 run to close out the quarter, but would still be down by 16 heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
- The Peacocks started out 5-for-6 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, including two three-point shots from Abreu and Thornton, narrowing the Hawks lead to 64-56 with just under seven minutes to go in the game.
- Two successful free-throws from Tyara McQueen halfway through the final period brought the Peacocks within seven, cutting the Monmouth lead to 68-61 with four minutes left to play.
- After multiple fouls committed by the Peacocks late in the game, the Hawks were able to get back out to a substantial lead, eventually taking the contest by an 81-67 margin.
Inside The Numbers:
- Two of Williams's four shot from deep came in the first quarter on Tuesday night, while the Piscataway native finished the first half with 12 points.
- Although the Peacocks entered the fourth quarter down 60-44, the team was able to stage a 17-9 run which brought them within seven points of the Hawks.
- Tuesday's contest marks the fifth game this season in which Williams has hit at least four triples, and the sixth in which she has scored at least 15 points.
- Jackson shot a team-best 55.6 percent from the field against Monmouth, while Gabrielle Harris led the squad in rebounds with seven.
Up Next:
- The Peacocks will enjoy a five day rest period before returning to the court when they head to New Rochelle to take on Iona on Monday, Jan. 20, for a 1 p.m. start.
