JERSEY CITY, NJ - The Saint Peter's University women's basketball dropped its first home affair of the 2020-21 season to Quinnipiac on Saturday afternoon, falling 55-40. The Peacocks now stand at 4-3 in conference play and are 3-1 at home on the year.
Once again, redshirt-senior
Taiah Thornton paced the Saint Peter's offense, finishing with 18 points and falling just short of a double-double with nine rebounds. Additionally, Thornton led the Peacocks in rejections with a new career-high of two blocks on the day. Freshman
Ajia James was the top producer on the glass, pulling down a team-leading 11 rebounds in the exchange with the Bobcats.
How It Happened
- Thornton got things started for the Peacocks on Saturday afternoon, grabbing a rebound and running the floor to finish with a lay-up at the other end on the team's second offensive possession of the day.
- The Bobcats gained a 12-4 advantage after the first six minutes of play, going on an 8-0 run following a textbook screen from Thornton and freshman Sky Castro which ended in a Castro lay-up.
- Saint Peter's was able to chip away at the Quinnipiac lead, drawing the score to 12-10 following a 6-0 run with just over a minute remaining in the opening stanza. Heading into the break, the Bobcats held a 16-10 lead.
- The visitors gained their first double-digit lead of the day two minutes into the second frame, going up 20-10 until junior Binta Salawu hit a mid-range jumper to cut the lead back to single digits.
- An 8-2 Saint Peter's run during the latter half of the second quarter, which included baskets from Thornton, freshman Victoria Ikenasio, and graduate Jenna Clark, drew the score back to a four-point differential, with Quinnipiac leading 24-20. The Peacocks would enter the half trailing 27-20.
- Thornton came out of the gate hot in the second half, pulling up from deep range immediately on the first possession and hitting the triple to cut the Quinnipiac lead to 27-23.
- The Bobcats answered a minute later, and maintained the six-point edge for the next five minutes as the teams traded shots, with the scoreboard reading 36-30 with three and a half minutes left in the quarter following another basket from Ikenasio.
- Another pivotal deep ball from Thornton off the feed from classmate Kendrea Williams at the 1:16 mark of the third quarter brought the Peacocks to within five points (38-33) of the Bobcats. The visitors, however, were able to edge back out to a 42-33 lead before the end of the quarter.
- After starting the final stanza trailing by nine, Saint Peter's went on a strong 7-2 run to start the final 10 minutes of play, as Williams brought the score to 44-40 with a deep ball from the corner.
- A subsequent 11-0 run from the Bobcats saw their lead grow to 15 as they took a 55-40 edge heading into the final moments of the game.
Inside The Numbers:
- Thornton's triple to start the second half was the first successful three-pointer of the game on either side.
- Ikenasio's six-point performance marks a new career-high for the freshman as she finished three-of-four in Saturday afternoon's exchange.
- The two sides were nearly even in rebounding, as Quinnipiac finished with the slight edge, grabbing 48 boards compared to 45 from Saint Peter's.
- The Peacocks were able to edge out the Bobcats in points off the bench, gaining 10 points from their reserves while the visiting subs tallied just seven points.
Up Next:
- The Peacocks remain at home this weekend for the second part of their series against the Bobcats, which is set to take place on Sunday, Jan. 10 at 1 p.m.
