JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Coming off a loss at Marist on Saturday, the St. Peter’s women returned to Yanitelli Center, winning their MAAC home opener Monday over Siena. The 87-83 victory put the Peacocks at 1-1 in conference play while the visiting Saints fell to 0-3.
Points of emphasis:
Pressing made sense. Both teams utilized a full-court press for virtually the entire contest. With senior Zoe Pero, St. Peter’s inside presence, still out with an injury, the Peacocks were in a five-guard alignment. Coach Marc Mitchell pressured Siena to render their size advantage less effective. On the opposite bench, Siena mentor Ali Jaques pressured to wear down St. Peter’s and have an advantage in the stretch.
Saints from downtown. As noted, size was there and Julia Hauer (17 points, five rebounds) was effective inside. A good portion of Siena’s offense in the stretch came from the perimeter. Sabrina Piper (24 points) and Margo Peterson (20) hit from beyond the arc in the stretch as the visitors made their final run.
Free throws seal the deal. Gabrielle Harris and Briyanah Richardson combined for 15 of 16 shooting from the line. The pair were clutch in the final minutes as St. Peter’s held off the Saints by converting from the charity stripe. On the game Siena shot 10 of 14 (71 percent) from the line while Saint Peter’s was 30 of 36 (83 percent). The shooting disparity was largely due to Siena being in a late-game fouling mode as they trailed and attempted to extend the game.
Rebounding. The smaller Peacocks boxed out and battled gamely on the glass, losing the rebounding battle by just two (33-31), but they did surrender 16 offensive boards while only pulling down nine on their end.
Turnovers. With both teams pressuring in an uptempo affair (81 possessions), turnovers are going to be part of the game. Both teams committed 22 turnovers each, an extremely high 27 percent turnover rate. It’s a figure that did not please Mitchell of St. Peter’s. “I’m disappointed in that number,” the Saint Peter’s coach said. “We want to turn the opposition over twenty plus times which we did. On our end we need to handle and take care of the ball a lot better.”
Numbers and notes
Possessions: 81
Offensive efficiency: St. Peter’s 107, Siena 103
Leading scorers: Siena- Sabrina Piper (24), Margo Peterson (20), Julia Hauer (17)
St. Peter’s – Gabrielle Harris 25, Briyanah Richardson 23
- Harris did a great job getting in the lane. She drew ten fouls, pacing everyone in that category.
- Richardson had quite the stat line-23 points (including 7 of 7 from the line) , 5 assists, 5 steals but a game high 8 turnovers in 36 minutes.
- St. Peter’s held the lead 29 of the 40 minutes. Still, the game saw a dozen ties and six lead changes.
- Former Saint Francis U (PA) coach Joe Haigh is an assistant on Jaques’ staff.
- St. Peter’s snapped an eighteen-game losing streak against Siena. The last victory was February 13, 2010, a 53-45 win on the road in Loudonville, NY.
- Records: St. Peter’s 4-7 (1-1 MAAC), Siena 2-10 (0-3 MAAC)
- The last time Siena started 0-3 in conference was 2014-15. The Saints went on a run that culminated with a runner-up in the Women’s WBI post season tournament. Saints finished 11-9 in conference that season.
- To date St. Peter’s averages 78 points per game, 19th-best the the country. Unfortunately, they allow 81, which puts them 347th out of 351 teams. Tempo free numbers put their offensive efficiency at 98 while defense is 102.
