QUEENS, NY - The Saint Peter's University women's basketball team dropped its first contest of the season Tuesday afternoon, falling to St. John's via an 85-47 margin. The Peacocks now stand at 1-1 on the season following their 69-64 overtime victory against NJIT on Nov. 25.
Junior
Binta Salawu was the top performer for the Peacocks in the exchange, finishing with 10 points while going 5-for-6 from the charity stripe. Freshman
Taylor Abraham also pitched in nine points while shooting 66.7 percent from the floor, and junior
Nickelle O'Neil led the squad in rebounds with eight boards on the night.
How It Happened
- The Peacocks opened up the scoring Tuesday afternoon, with Salawu knocking down an opening triple off the assist from Kendrea Williams. The Red Storm retaliated quickly however, going on a 11-0 run over the next three minutes of play.
- Jenna Clark was able to end the St. John's run four minutes into the opening period, getting the friendly roll on a lay-up to bring the score to 11-5. By the end of the opening frame, the Red Storm had extended their lead to nine and led 20-11.
- The two sides maintained their separation through the opening minutes of the second period, as the score grew to 24-13, ending with a pair of free throws from Salawu while the Red Storm scored twice from the floor.
- Heading into the first media timeout of the second quarter, St. John's had extended its lead to 13 following an 8-4 run. Following late-half points from Abraham and classmate Rachel Kuhl, the Peacocks found themselves trailing 46-20 after two quarters.
- Saint Peter's started on better footing in the second half, putting up five points to four from St. John's, including back-to-back lay-ups from Ajia James. Over the next three minutes, the Red Storm went on another 10-0 run, increasing their lead to 60-25.
- A brief 6-0 run by the Peacocks from the conjoined efforts of Salawu, O'Neil, and Sky Castro brought the score to 60-31 with 2:27 left in the third quarter.
- The final frame opened with a Peacocks three-pointer courtesy of Jenna Clark followed by a pair of made free throws from Kuhl, but constant pressure from the Red Storm brought the score to 73-36 with just over six minutes left to play.
- The Red Storm would finish out the game on a 12-11 run to close out the contest by a margin of 85-47.
Inside The Numbers:
- Tuesday's game marks the second straight in which Salawu has finished in double figures, after her 14 point performance against NJIT on Nov. 25.
- Through two games, Salawu holds a team-leading 86.7 percent free-throw average with 13 out of 15 shots made from the line.
- Abraham's 66.7 percent shooting is the current single game season-high for a Saint Peter's player.
- For the second game in a row, the Peacocks edged out their opponents on the offensive boards, grabbing 23 offensive rebounds to the Red Storm's 14.
- Saint Peter's also came away with the advantage in steals, taking the ball away from their opponents 13 times compared to nine from St. John's.
Up Next:
- The Peacocks will travel south to Maryland this weekend as they prepare to take on Morgan State on Saturday, Dec. 5 in a 2 p.m. start.
