JERSEY CITY, N.J. – The Saint Peter's University women's basketball team beat Niagara 74-68 Thursday night in Run Baby Run Arena. Graduate guard Kendrea Williams led the team in scoring with 20 points while junior center Kassondra Brown recorded her seventh consecutive double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 15 rebounds.
The Peacocks jumped on the Purple Eagles from the start. Getting out to a 10-4 lead to open the game, senior guard Nickelle O'Neil paced the Peacocks with four points, while Williams, Brown, and senior guard Kourtney Crane each scored as well. After Niagara answered with a run of their own, the Peacocks would extend their lead to seven after a three pointer from senior guard Binta Salawu with 46 seconds to go in the opening frame. Saint Peter's would lead 17-15 after one.
Niagara was able to jump out to a slim lead to open the second quarter, but the Peacocks showed great resilience, answering every punch Niagara threw at them. Williams made a contested jumper to put the Peacocks up 21-20 with 7:44 left in the quarter, and the Peacocks never trailed again. After Niagara hit a three with under two minutes to go in the half, Williams came down on the other end and answered within 20 seconds, putting the Peacocks up 8. Sophomore forward Sky Castro would make a mid-range jumper to finish out the half for the Peacocks. They led 36-29 at the break.
A Brown layup and a Williams three quickly put the Peacocks up 12 to begin the third quarter. Over the course of the next three minutes, the Purple Eagles were able to go on a run to cut Saint Peter's lead to five, forcing a timeout from head coach Marc Mitchell. Coming out of the timeout, sophomore guard Rachel Kuhl was able to hit a big three from the left wing on an assist from Brown to put them up eight. Freshman forward Kaila Dawkins provided some big minutes for the Peacocks, scoring the last four in the quarter. Saint Peter's led 55-51 after three.
Niagara hit a three pointer less than a minute into the final quarter to cut the lead to one, but Saint Peter's never let their lead fall below two after Williams came down and made a layup at the other end. With 6:01 to go in the quarter, Dawkins pump faked a pass that sent her defender flying, which allowed her to find Castro for an open jumper to push the Peacock lead to seven. Castro and Dawkins combined for six straight points for Saint Peter's, including the play mentioned before. The Purple Eagles were able to get within two at 65-63 with 3:28 remaining in the game, but a Dawkins bucket followed by a Brown bucket put Saint Peter's back up six. The Purple Eagles were forced to foul down the stretch, and the Peacocks didn't miss a beat at the line. They would hold on to win their fifth straight game in Run Baby Run Arena, their longest home winning streak since the 2007-08 season.
Top Peacock Performers
- Williams ended up finishing with 20 points. She also came up with three steals in the game.
- Brown recorded her eleventh double-double on the year and her seventh straight, scoring 12 and adding 15 boards. She also had four assists, two blocks, and two steals.
- O'Neil finished with nine points, six rebounds, and five assists.
- Crane scored ten points.
Milestones
- Salawu: Season high 4 assists.
- O'Neil: Season high 6 rebounds.
- Dawkins: Career high 11 points.
Stat Pack
- Saint Peter's shot 31-of-59 from the floor (52.5%) while recording a 4-of-17 mark (23.5%) from downtown. The team shot 8-of-10 (80.0%) at the free throw line.
- The Peacocks recorded 20 assists in the game.
- Saint Peter's outrebounded Niagara 46-29.
- The Peacocks scored 23 points off of 16 Niagara turnovers.
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