NEWARK, N.J. – The Saint Peter's University women's basketball team lost to the NJIT Highlanders by a score of 67-61 Saturday afternoon in the NJIT Wellness and Events Center.
The Peacocks maintained a lead for the first five minutes of the contest. Junior center Kassondra Brown got the Peacocks going with a jumper, and graduate guard Kendrea Williams nailed a three on the next possession to help get the Peacocks out in front. Saint Peter's ended up trailing by eight at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, freshman forward Kaila Dawkins started to light it up for the Peacocks. She scored the first eight points of the quarter for Saint Peter's, helping them stay in the game. The second quarter alone gave her a career high in scoring. Saint Peter's trailed by 13 at the half, 43-30.
Coming out of the half, it was senior guard Kourtney Crane who helped the Peacocks stay in the game. Playing in her first game since the Lehigh matchup, Crane made two free throws and then a three to score five straight points for the Peacocks. Senior guard Binta Salawu also pitched in five points for the Peacocks, as they trimmed the deficit to 12 by the end of the quarter.
Trailing by as many as 14 points in the fourth quarter, the Peacocks went on a 9-0 run to cut the NJIT lead to five. Williams capped off the run with a tough bucket with the contact and converted the free throw. Saint Peter's got the NJIT lead down to as little as four points in the quarter, but their valiant comeback effort came up just short, as they dropped to 1-4, losing their second straight game.
Top Peacock Performers
- Williams led all scorers in the game, scoring 19 points and draining two three-pointers.
- Brown scored 15 points and added 10 rebounds. It was her second double double of the season.
- Dawkins led the Peacocks off of the bench, scoring a career high nine points and matched her career best in rebounding with five over the course of 15 minutes.
- Sophomore forward Taylor Abraham played in her first game of the season, scoring four points and recording three rebounds.
Tale of the Tape
- Saint Peter's shot 21-of-62 from the floor (33.9%) while recording a 4-of-12 mark (33.3%) from downtown; the Peacocks went 15-of-23 (65.2%) at the free-throw line.
- The Peacocks scored 15 points off of 23 NJIT turnovers.
- Saint Peter's recorded 33 rebounds, 12 of which came on the offensive glass.
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