JERSEY CITY, NJ - The Saint Peter's University women's basketball team came out on top Saturday night, defeating its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) hOURglass rival Monmouth 70-60 in Jersey City. The win marks the Peacocks' sixth league victory of the season, matching their 2019-20 tally, which was the team's strongest MAAC record since the women went 6-12 against conference opponents in 2009-10.
The top producer for the Peacocks' offense was redshirt-senior
Kendrea Williams who, for the third consecutive contest, finished with 20 points. The Piscataway native shot an impressive 61.5 percent from the floor, while finishing at 40 percent from deep against the Hawks. For the sixth time this year, freshman
Ajia James led the team in rebounding, pulling down nine boards in the exchange while contributing eight points on the offensive front.
How It Happened:
- Redshirt-senior Taiah Thornton got the ball rolling for Saint Peter's on Saturday night, finishing under the Monmouth basket on a driving lay-up for the first score of the game. On the following possession, Thornton found Williams for a deep triple, giving the Peacocks a 5-2 lead.
- By the first media timeout of the night, the Hawks had gained an 8-7 edge following a 6-2 run, which included four straight free throws. Once play resumed, a quick move inside by junior Nickelle O'Neil with 3:22 left in the opening period helped regain a three-point (11-8) advantage for the Peacocks.
- Moments later, four unanswered points from James with just under two minutes left in the first quarter gave the Peacocks a 17-10 lead.
- Williams continued her offensive effort to start the second period, finishing a tough shot at the basket off the feed from junior Binta Salawu, which increased the scoring margin to 21-13.
- The Hawks responded quickly however, going on a 6-0 run to narrow the gap to 21-18. Then, two triples on back-to-back possessions, courtesy of freshman Rachel Kuhl, put Saint Peter's up 27-20 with just over six minutes remaining in the half.
- Salawu knocked down her first deep ball of the night with just over three minutes to play in the second stanza. The bucket was followed by a key lay-up from Williams off the assist from Kuhl, increasing the margin to double digits with a 34-24 Saint Peter's advantage.
- Consecutive lay-ups from Thornton and Williams opened the second half for Saint Peter's, putting the team up 43-27. The pair of buckets kickstarted a 10-2 run for the Peacocks, culminating in a lay-up from freshman Giah Moore, which gave the home team a 20-point (49-29) edge.
- Monmouth regained some ground over the next five minutes, going on a 13-4 run to cut the Saint Peter's lead to 53-42 with just over one minute left in the third quarter.
- The Hawks struck first to start the final quarter of action, cutting the Saint Peter's lead to 53-47 before graduate Jenna Clark quickly ended the visitors' run with a smooth midrange jumper.
- Williams and Salawu then combined for two straight baskets, recapturing a double-digit (59-47) lead. After the Hawks got going again, a Monmouth triple capped off a 9-2 run for the visitors, bringing the score to 63-58.
- In the waning moments, Williams hit perhaps the most clutch shot of the night with 46 seconds left on the clock, knocking down a pivotal three-pointer from the corner to put the Peacocks up 67-58.
Inside The Numbers:
- The Peacocks have been strong at home this year, currently holding a 4-2 record when playing in Jersey City.
- Williams has now led the Peacocks in scoring in 11 of the team's 18 games, and has finished with 20+ points in four contests.
- Thornton registered her fourteenth double-digit performance of the season against the Hawks on Saturday night, finishing with 12 points while shooting just over 46 percent from the floor.
- Kuhl's six first-half points eclipsed the freshman's previous career-high of four points.
- Both sides shot exactly 44.4 percent from the field Saturday night, as Saint Peter's finished 28-for-63 while Monmouth went 20-for-45.
- Saint Peter's led by as many as 22 points in the affair after gaining a 51-29 lead midway through the third quarter.
- The Peacocks forced 21 turnovers from the Hawks in the exchange and made sure to capitalize, scoring 26 points off those takeaways.
Up Next:
- The Peacocks remain at home to finish out their series against the Hawks on Sunday, Feb. 14 at 8:30 p.m.
