JERSEY CITY, NJ - The Saint Peter's University women's basketball team stunned the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Thursday night, defeating current No. 1 Rider 67-56. The Peacocks never trailed in the affair, leading for more than 36 minutes of the game, with the remainder coming in the opening minutes with a tied score.
Sophomore
Briyanah Richardson led the way for the Peacocks, scoring a team-high 16 points while grabbing six rebounds and dishing out two assists. Senior
Zoe Pero had a major impact for the Peacocks in the game, scoring 10 points and grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds. Redshirt junior
Taiah Thornton also tacked on 15 points in the win while going 5-for-6 from the charity stripe.
How It Happened
- Neither team was able to find much success in the opening minutes of Thursday night's game, as the scoreboard remained blank for the first two and a half minutes of action. The streak would eventually be ended by Thornton, who grabbed a key steal in front of the Peacocks basket and traveled the length of the floor for the driving layup.
- Saint Peter's would edge out to a 5-2 lead midway through the first quarter, following a successful free throw from Gabrielle Harris. The Peacocks would then gain their first 10 point lead of the game late in the opening stanza, going up 13-2 following a pair of made layups from Pero and Cinnamon Dockery.
- Yamel Abreu would open the second quarter with an impressive three-pointer off the glass as the shot clock ran down to zero, giving Saint Peter's a 16-10 advantage. Briyanah Richardson then hit a triple of her own midway through the quarter, extending the Saint Peter's lead to 23-14.
- A second triple from Richardson late in the first half would give the Peacocks another double-digit lead, this time going ahead 30-20 with under two minutes to go in the quarter. The Peacocks would finish out the first half with their largest lead of the day at that point, holding a 12 point advantage over the Broncs with the scoreboard reading 32-20.
- A pivotal 7-0 run in the beginning of the second half brought the score to 39-22 in favor of the Peacocks, with the seven points coming from three separate players, including Thornton, Wil'lisha Jackson, and Kendrea Williams.
- The Broncs would then go on a run of their own, staging a 6-2 streak that would narrow the Peacocks lead to 41-28 with just under five minutes left in the third quarter.
- There would be an over two minute absence in scoring from either side in the latter part of the third period before Pero grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed triple from Abreu, putting the shot back up for the contested layup.
- Harris would hit her sixth and seventh free throws of the day to start the fourth quarter, followed up by a solid driving layup from Thornton, giving Saint Peter's a 53-37 lead. The Broncs would again chip away at the Peacocks lead, narrowing the advantage to 12 following a midrange jumper from Stella Johnson with just over five minutes left to play.
- Clutch free throws late in the game from Abreu, Thornton, and Richardson would maintain the Peacocks' double-digit lead, as the Peacocks held on to a 64-52 lead with under a minute to go.
Inside The Numbers:
- Heading into Thursday's game, Rider was the only undefeated team left in the MAAC, and had been on an impressive 14 game win streak.
- At the conclusion of the first half, Pero had already amassed an impressive seven rebounds for the Peacocks, leading all players in the category.
- Pero's double-double is the senior's first of the season, and her 13 rebounds tie her career-best set at Lafayette on Nov. 20, 2018.
- Richardson was perfect from the foul line Thursday night, hitting all six of her shots, including two within the final minute of play to maintain the Peacocks' lead.
- Head coach Marc Mitchell now stands just one win away from 200 on his career, with the victory over Rider marking win number 199.
- Saint Peter's held Rider to their lowest three-point shooting performance of the season, allowing the Broncs to hit just 1-of-20 from beyond the arc.
Up Next:
- The Peacocks travel down the shore this weekend to face off against hOURglass rival Monmouth for the second time this season, with a 3 p.m. tip-off scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 8.
