JERSEY CITY, NJ - The Saint Peter's University women's basketball team fell to Manhattan, 85-52, Thursday afternoon at the Yanitelli Center. The Peacocks stuck with the Jaspers early, but red-hot shooting from the visitors proved to be the difference in the match.
For the sixth time this season, redshirt junior
Taiah Thornton led the Saint Peter's contingent in scoring, dropping 17 points while shooting 53.8 percent from the field. Thornton's classmate
Kendrea Williams was the other Peacock to break the double-digit mark, putting up 10 points for the home side while going 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.
How It Happened
- Gabrielle Harris would get things going for the Peacocks on the offensive end, hitting the hosts' first shot of the day less than a minute into play, off the feed from Briyanah Richardson.
- SPU's first triple of the day came from the hands of Williams midway through the first quarter, following a defensive rebound by Wil'lisha Jackson at the other end of the floor
- Yamel Abreu hit her second shot of the opening stanza late in the first quarter, sinking a smooth jumper off an assist from Thornton and bringing the score to 14-17 in favor of the Jaspers.
- The Peacocks would go scoreless for the first two and a half minutes of the second quarter until Jackson was able to end the drought with a successful midrange jumper.
- Thornton came away with a clutch steal off the Manhattan inbound with just about four minutes left in the first half, bringing it down the floor and feeding it to Tyara McQueen, who drained her first triple of the day to cut the Manhattan lead to six at 29-23.
- Harris would round out the half for Saint Peter's, hitting her second shot of the day on a jumper from about 10 feet out.
- Harris hit her first three-pointer of the day in the opening minute of the second half, knocking it down from deep after an impressive pass around two defenders from Williams.
- This shot would be followed up by Thornton and her first triple of the day, hitting her first shot from beyond the arc three minutes into the second half.
- Richardson and Thornton would go back-to-back on scoring in the latter half of the third quarter, giving the Peacocks five unanswered points.
- Thornton would finish a very productive third quarter with 11 points while hitting four out of her five shots in that period alone.
- The trio of Thornton, Williams, and Richardson tacked on the Peacocks' first three shots of the fourth quarter.
- The final points of the game for the Peacocks came from the line with just under a minute left, when Cinnamon Dockery knocked down both shots from the charity stripe.
Inside The Numbers:
- The contest marks the eighth game this season in which Richardson has led the team in assists (5), and the sixth in which she has dished out at least five assists.
- Thornton's 17 points represented the highest scoring performance of any player from either side on Thursday.
- Thursday's game was the third this season in which Williams has shot 60 percent or better from three-point range.
- The final margin of defeat (33) was the largest for the Peacocks' this season.
Up Next:
- The Peacocks return to the road on Saturday, Jan. 11, when the team travels to Fairfield for a 2 p.m. matchup.
