EMMITSBURG, MD - The Saint Peter's women's basketball team secured their fifth conference victory in a dominant 73-61 victory over Mount St. Mary's on Saturday, Jan. 31 at the Knott Arena in Emmitsburg.
The energy brought by Saint Peter's was felt from the moment the game began and it did not fade once as the tune of the 3-point shot was in favor of the Peacocks, shooting a season best 57.9 percent as a team. Two sensational performances that stood out for the Peacocks came from
Carys Roy, who led the team with 20 points, her first of the season and shooting a remarkable 56.3 percent from the field. The other was by
Nikola Zdenkova who dropped 18 points all on 3-pointers, shooting 6-for-9 from 3-point land.
A historic moment came for
Laila Grant as her basket at the end of the first quarter surpassed 1,000 points for her career. She followed up with a little magic of her own, scoring 13 points and knocking down three 3-pointers as well to go along with grabbing five boards.
Other big performances came from
De'Naya Rippey who claimed another double double of 12 points and a team best 10 rebounds in addition to leading the squad with five assists. And
Louella Allana had a huge defensive day, earning three steals which were the most by any player in the game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER: Roy scored the first basket inside following a great pass from Rippey. Rippey knocked down a pair at the line for her first points before Roy scored on an and-1 and nailed the free throw to give the Peacocks a 7-6 lead in the first. After a media timeout, both teams struggled to score for a few minutes until Roy scored again inside and Zdenkova launched a corner triple to add to the total. After another layup inside by Roy, Grant on a fastbreak drove to the lane and finished on a great layup with the time expiring. That basket ended the first quarter with a Peacocks lead of 16-11.
SECOND QUARTER: Grant and the Saint Peter's squad came out the second quarter swinging as Grant scored the first five points of the quarter by herself before Rippey added a basket for good measure. Another triple by Grant and baskets inside by Rippey and Roy gave the Peacocks a massive 30-13 lead halfway through the second. The Mountaineers showed some life following a pair of baskets coming out of a media timeout, but the Peacocks quickly shut that down with a five point run by Rippey and Zdenkova. Mount St. Mary's in response scored their own five point run until Zdenkova ended the drought with a long distance triple to send the contest into the half with the Peacocks firmly out in front 38-22.
THIRD QUARTER: Zdenkova started off hot in the second half, knocking down back to back 3-point jumpers before Grant joined in the 3-point party and a mid range jumper by
Layla Laws added to the total. Halfway through the quarter, the Peacocks stayed out in front with a 49-27 lead. Mount St. Mary's fought back with a 4-0 run coming out of the media timeout, all scored on free throws. Roy silenced the run with a free throw of her own and Zdenkova knocked down another triple with another one coming later from
Reilly Sunday. A pair of free throws from Rippey scored the last points in the third for the Peacocks, and after a pair from the Mountaineers, the third quarter ended with the lead still in Saint Peter's hands with a 60-42 score.
FOURTH QUARTER: Saint Peter's started the fourth quarter going on a 6-to-3 run in the first three minutes with points coming by Rippey and Roy. After a layup by the Mount, Laws cashed in on a pair from the line with the quarter halfway over and the lead still in the hands of the Peacocks with a 68-47 score. Coming out of the media timeout, Mount St. Mary's went on a five point run to shorten the gap before a long triple by Allana sealed the deal for Saint Peter's. An insurance basket by Roy added to the total and after a six point run by the Mountaineers, the final buzzer sounded with Saint Peter's victorious in dominant fashion of a 73-61 final score.
UP NEXT: The Peacocks will return to Run Baby Run Arena on Thursday, Feb. 5 at 7pm ET against the Siena Saints.
