JERSEY CITY, N.J. - The Saint Peter's women's basketball team was defeated by Iona on Saturday, Feb. 21 at Run Baby Run Arena by a final score of 55-66.
The matchup was a special one as senior day took place, and emotions were flying with the honoring of the Peacocks five senior leaders:
Louella Allana,
Nikola Zdenkova,
Laila Grant,
Layla Laws, and
Reilly Sunday. With all five players emotional during the pre game celebration being joined by friends, family, and loved ones.
In the game however, the stars were the next generation.
Jayshlynn Vega led Saint Peter's in scoring with 18 points coming off the bench.
De'Naya Rippey also had a fantastic performance, finishing just behind Vega in scoring with 16 points herself. In fact, the reserves for Saint Peter's were outstanding, scoring 30 points from the bench alone.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER:
Carys Roy knocked down the first bucket for Saint Peter's on a spinning hook shot before Allana added to the total with a 3-pointer from downtown to give the Peacocks a quick five points to open up. After a mid range jumper by the Gaels, the score sat at 5-2 in favor of the Peacocks heading into the media timeout. Coming out of the timeout, the Gaels quickly scored seven straight before a triple by Rippey lowered the deficit to one. And with the clock winding down, Laws cashed in on a wide open mid range jumper at the buzzer to take a 10-9 lead after the first quarter.
SECOND QUARTER: Just like the first, Roy opened up the second quarter on a layup inside. Vega added to the score on a pair of free throws as well to take a 14-11 lead after the first three minutes. After a pair of triples from Iona to take the lead back, Zdenkova cashed in on a mid range jumper following the assist from Roy. Entering the media timeout, the Gaels had jumped out to a 23-16 lead before Rippey ended the scoring run by Iona with a pair of free throws. Both teams exchanged fastbreak buckets with the Peacocks score coming from a layup by Laws. After another layup inside by Rippey and a mid range jumper by Vega, the Gaels entered halftime out in front still with a 24-31 deficit for Saint Peter's.
THIRD QUARTER: Iona began the second half shutting the Peacocks out on the scoring chart and taking a 38-24 lead at the media break. Coming out of the media timeout began to see a large rally from Saint Peter's that started with a pull up triple by Grant before a pair of and-1 baskets by Vega and Laws got the crowd on their feet to make the score a 33-39 game. The Gaels in response posted a pair of and-1 baskets of their own to keep the lead in their favor. Both teams exchanged tough minutes defensively of holding to no score before Rippey knocked down a long range triple to end the scoreless run. A last second stop by the Peacocks showed signs of momentum to end the third quarter with a 36-48 deficit to Iona.
FOURTH QUARTER: Vega opened up the fourth quarter on a long distance triple. Grant added another to the total on a drive inside and laid the ball up at the rim. After a few minutes of no scoring it was once again Rippey who awoke the crowd on a drive inside, drawing the foul, and knocking down the and-1. Rippey followed it up on the defensive end by stealing the ball and finding Vega on the fastbreak to send the game into a media timeout in a 45-55 ballgame. Coming out of the timeout, Rippey set the tone early with a fiery layup inside. And after a long triple by Vega the Gaels took a timeout that had the Peacock bench and crowd roaring with excitement. With three minutes to go, the Peacocks were quickly gaining momentum in a 50-60 game. Rippey added a pair of free throws and Vega with three free throws of her own to end the game in an Iona victory of 55-66.
UP NEXT: The Peacocks will remain at home as they prepare to face Marist on Thursday, Feb. 26 at 7 pm ET.
