NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Saint Peter's University women's basketball team dug deep Sunday night, completing a sweep in its opening weekend of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play, defeating Iona 45-38 at the Hynes Athletics Center in New Rochelle, NY. The two wins mark the first time in nearly two decades that the Peacocks have started conference play 2-0, last accomplishing the feat in the 2001-02 season by defeating Iona (79-68) and Marist (67-40) on Dec. 7 and 9, respectively.
For the second time this season, junior guard
Binta Salawu rose above and led the Peacocks in scoring with 14 points against the Gaels on Sunday night while also contributing seven rebounds and two assists on the night. Freshman forward
Sky Castro had another dominant showing on the boards, finishing with a game-high 13 rebounds, splitting the category with seven on the defensive end and six offensive rebounds.
How It Happened
- Salawu opened the offensive movement for the Peacocks Sunday night, hitting a smooth jumper from about 18 feet out in the first two minutes. The Gaels then jumped out to a 6-3 lead until redshirt senior Taiah Thornton hit her first triple of the night midway through the first quarter.
- A follow-up jumper from the Pennsauken native off the assist from Salawu gave the Peacocks their first lead of the night at 8-6.
- Iona opened the second quarter with a 5-0 run to regain a 14-12 lead until Castro grabbed a quick offensive rebound and finished the subsequent lay-up, bringing the game back to level.
- Castro's layup spurred an integral 8-0 run for Saint Peter's, which included contributions from Salawu, graduate Jenna Clark, and freshman Taylor Abraham, ultimately giving the Peacocks a 21-14 lead.
- The Gaels, however, came back with a 6-0 run of their own, but a successful jumper from Thornton with a minute left in the half would put Saint Peter's up 23-20 to close out the first 20 minutes.
- Back-to-back buckets from freshman forward Ajia James started off the second half for the blue and white, giving the visitors a 27-22 lead. Following James's opening buckets, the only other Peacock to find the basket in the third quarter was Salawu, finishing on a lay-up more than five minutes later.
- The Peacocks entered the final frame trailing 30-29.
- Saint Peter's put together a 7-2 run to kick off the final period, with points coming from both Thornton and James, as the Peacocks moved ahead 36-32.
- A clutch jumper from Salawu with four minutes left gave Saint Peter's a 39-32 advantage, until an Iona lay-up narrowed the advantage to five.
- The rest of the contest would be decided by free throws, as the Peacocks finished off the night on a 6-4 run with all points for Saint Peter's coming from the charity stripe.
Inside The Numbers:
- The Saint Peter's men's and women's basketball teams now each hold records of 2-0, and the Peacocks stand as the only program in the conference to finish the weekend with sweeps from both the men and women.
- The two wins from each program signify the first season since the 1996-97 ledger in which both the Saint Peter's men's and women's teams have started MAAC play 2-0.
- Following Castro's 13 rebounds and James's eight boards, each player now has 48 rebounds on the season, which lead the MAAC.
- Sunday's game marks the first time this season in which the Peacocks have not out-rebounded their opponents on the offensive front, finishing with 12 offensive rebounds to 17 from the hosts.
- The last Saint Peter's win in New Rochelle came more than 12 years ago on Feb. 24, 2008 via a 61-57 margin.
- The last time the Peacocks won two straight on the road against Iona occurred over the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons, with Saint Peter's wins in New Rochelle coming on Jan. 20, 2004 and Jan. 25, 2005, by scores of 74-68 and 95-85, respectively.
- Saint Peter's spent nearly 30 minutes (28:10) of Sunday's game in the lead, despite scoring only six points in the third quarter.
Coach's Quote - Marc Mitchell:
- "A real gritty win. Proud of the team. Ladies really dug deep in the fourth quarter."
Up Next:
- The Peacocks are currently scheduled to host Monmouth from Dec. 18-19, with both games scheduled for an 8 p.m. start.
