ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - The Saint Peter's University women's basketball team completed its season Tuesday morning, dropping a 64-53 decision to No. 8 Niagara in the first round of the 2020 Hercules Tires MAAC Basketball Championship.
The Peacocks and the Purple Eagles went tick-for-tack throughout the majority of the contest, which featured eight lead changes. Redshirt junior
Gabrielle Harris paced the Peacocks offense, scoring 16 points while going 12-for-14 from the free throw line.
How It Happened
- Neither team found success in the opening two minutes of action, as the scoreboard remained blank through more than two minutes of play. A pair of free throws from Niagara with 7:30 left in the opening period would eventually break the silence.
- After falling into an 8-0 hole, sophomore Briyanah Richardson finally put the Peacocks' first points on the board more than four and a half minutes into the first quarter. The effort would be followed up by a triple from Taiah Thornton, cutting the Niagara lead to 8-5.
- The Peacocks finished off the quarter with a clutch triple from Cinnamon Dockery as time expired, narrowing the Purple Eagles' advantage to just a single point (16-15).
- The Peacocks took their first lead of the day toward the beginning of the second stanza, going up 17-16 following a pair of successful free throws from Harris.
- The Peacocks would then edge out to a seven-point lead late in the quarter, getting out to a 27-20 cushion after a corner triple from Kendrea Williams, followed by three made free throws from the redshirt junior.
- Entering the halftime break, the Peacocks held a 29-24 lead over their foes from Western New York.
- The Purple Eagles came out firing in the second half, scoring two quick baskets to cut the Saint Peter's lead to 29-28 in the first minute of play. A triple from Niagara's Jai Moore three minutes into the second half would tie the game back up at 31-31.
- The teams would remain neck-and-neck throughout the next six minutes of play, as the Peacocks led 40-39 with just under three minutes to go in the third frame. The Purple Eagles then jumped back out to a seven-point lead following an 8-0 run with just over a minute left in the third.
- Saint Peter's entered the final quarter of play trailing 47-43, but were able to even the score by holding Niagara scoreless for the first two and a half minutes of the period. The Purple Eagles then got out to a six point lead with just under two minutes left in the contest, leading 57-51, before ending the game with five made free throws.
Inside The Numbers:
- Harris set a new career-high in free throws during the exchange, hitting 12-of-14 from the charity stripe on Tuesday.
- Harris's 16 points were her most ever against the Purple Eagles, doubling her score from each of the first two matchups, in which she scored eight in both.
- Richardson's eight rebounds marked a new season-high for the sophomore, and tied her career record.
- Saint Peter's struggled from the floor throughout all of Tuesday's game, shooting just 23.4 percent from the field and 18.5 percent from beyond the arc.
- The Peacocks were much more efficient in free throw percentage, however, shooting 85.7 percent from the line compared to 60 percent from the Purple Eagles.
