JERSEY CITY, N.J. – The Saint Peter's University women's basketball team beat Rider 69-56 Saturday afternoon at Run Baby Run Arena. Junior center Kassondra Brown recorded her third double-double of the week, scoring 20 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. Graduate guard Kendrea Williams broke the school's three-point record. Now with 169 career threes at Saint Peter's, she jumped Tania Kennedy '09 with her second three in the second quarter. Kennedy made 167 career threes at SPU.
The first quarter was played evenly between both sides. The largest lead of the quarter for either team was five. Brown got the Peacocks on the scoreboard with a layup at the 8:34 mark to tie the game at two. The Peacocks would then go scoreless for over three minutes before senior guard Nickelle O'Neil hit a smooth pull-up jumper. Up one, Brown scored baskets on back-to-back possessions to push the Peacock lead to five with under three minutes to go in the quarter. Sophomore guard Rachll Kuhl would add a three-pointer with 30 seconds left to finish the scoring in the quarter for Saint Peter's. They led 14-12 after one.
Rider jumped on the Peacocks to open up the second quarter. They went on a 12-5 run for the first five minutes of the quarter to take a seven point lead. After that run, Williams found her range from three. She tied the three point record with 3:51 on a shot from the corner. About a minute and a half later, she broke the record with a three from the right wing. Her second three brought the Rider lead down to one. 26 seconds after that, she hit another triple to cap a 9-0 run by herself. This gave the Peacocks the lead momentarily before Rider tied it up before halftime. The teams would go into the locker room deadlocked at 26.
The Peacocks again found themselves trailing for most of the quarter. The team was only able to score ten points for the first nine minutes of the quarter. Brown scored four, while sophomore forward Sky Castro was able to make a free throw and a mid-range jumper. Kuhl gave the Peacocks the lead towards the end of the quarter, as she made two straight three-pointers over the last minute and a half to take a two point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Saint Peter's would not trail the rest of the game. They went on a 11-0 run starting with Kuhl's threes and finishing with a three-point play from freshman forward Kaila Dawkins. Senior guard Kourtney Crane was also able to convert a huge three-point play down the stretch, giving the Peacocks a nine point lead with 4:34 left in the game. Saint Peter's was able to make 12 free throws down the stretch to seal the victory and earn themselves their third straight win at home.
Top Peacock Performers
- Brown recorded her seventh double-double on the year, scoring 20 and adding 15 boards. She also had two steals.
- Williams had 16 points and also grabbed 4 rebounds. She picked up a steal and a block as well.
- Kuhl led the team in scoring off of the bench, draining three threes and adding two free throws for 11 points.
- Crane scored eight points and had five rebounds.
Milestones
- Kuhl: Season highs in points (11) and three pointers (3).
- Williams: 169 career three pointers (SPU Record).
Stat Pack
- Saint Peter's shot 20-of-45 from the floor (44.4%) while recording a 7-of-15 mark (46.7%) from downtown. The team shot 22-of-30 (73.3%) at the free throw line.
- The Peacocks outrebounded the Broncs 43-22.
- Saint Peter's scored 15 points off of 15 Rider turnovers.
- Saint Peter's outscored Rider in bench points 16-9.
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