Box Score ALBANY, N.Y. – Marist defeated Saint Peter's 62-57 in the 2015 MAAC Tournament Quarterfinals on Thursday night.
Antonia Smith (Bronx, N.Y. / Dwight School) paced Saint Peter's (5-26) with 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Sajanna Bethea (Levittown, Pa. / Pennsbury) posted her seventh double-double of the season, recording 16 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Bridget Whitfield (San Diego, Calif. / La Costa Canyon) and Hala Mostafa (Cairo, Egypt / Modern Narmer Language School) scored nine points each.
Tori Jarosz powered Marist (20-10) with 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Madeline Blais recorded 17 points and nine rebounds.
Saint Peter's tied the game at 57 with 1:06 left to play off a jumper from Smith. Marist took the lead for good with 48-seconds left following a layup from Jarosz. Free throws down the stretch from Blais and Jarosz would secure the victory.
Once tied at 40 with 9:50 remaining on the clock, Marist used an 11-3 run to take their largest lead of the game (51-43) with 7:08 to play. The run was capped off by a 3-ball from Blais, who scored five points during the run.
The Peacocks responded with five straight points, coming off a triple from Whitfield and a layup from Bethea. The teams would exchange points, with Marist holding a 57-52 edge.
Saint Peter's hung around, with Mostafa hitting a 3-pointer at 1:42 and Smith's jumper at 1:06 to tie the game at 57.
Saint Peter's opened up the second half with five straight points, fueled by a 3-pointer from Alyssa Velles (Franklin, Conn. / Norwich Free Academy) and pair of free throws from Bethea.
Marist countered with consecutive baskets before a triple from Smith at 15:48 gave the Peacocks a 35-29 lead.
The Red Foxes cut into the deficit with back-to-back baskets to trail 35-33. Smith answered with a field goal to extend the Peacock advantage. The two teams traded points, tying the game at 40.
Marist began the first half getting to the free throw line; hitting 5-of-6 six attempts to take a 5-0 lead. The Peacocks got on the board at the 16:45 mark with a jumper from Smith.
The Red Foxes extended their lead at 15:39 with a triple from Coffey to lead 8-2. Following a basket from Bethea to trim the margin, the Red Foxes hit another free throw to lead 9-4.
Saint Peter's would get things going offensively, going on an 11-0 run over a six-minute span to take a 15-9 lead. The run was fueled by Mostafa, who scored on back-to-back possessions.
Marist stopped the drought with consecutive baskets to cut into the margin. Following a basket from Smith, Coffey hit a 3-ball at 6:12 cut the deficit to one. The Red Foxes took the lead with four unanswered points until a field goal from Smith knotted the game at 20.
Marist regained the lead with five straight points to lead 25-20. Saint Peter's countered with a 3-pointer from Whitfield at 1:39 and a field goal from Bethea with 47-seconds left to tie the game at 25.
Talah Hughes (Beacon, N.Y. / Beacon) would hit a buzzer-beater layup to give the Peacocks a 27-25 heading into the locker room.
Velles finished with three points and six rebounds. Her 48 total 3-point field goals this season are the most by a freshman since Tiffany Jones (2004-05). They are also the fifth most in a single season in the program's history and the most by a player since Tania Kennedy (48) in the 2008-09 campaign.
Mostafa tallied three blocks in the contest, making her the eighth player in program history to record 100 career blocks. She ranks seventh all-time and needs five more to move into seventh place.
Saint Peter's finishes the season 5-26 overall. Their five victories are the most in a season since 2011-12.
