ATLANTIC CITY - The Saint Peter's women's basketball team was defeated in the First Round of the MAAC Tournament to Sacred Heart 34-47 at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
The name of the game was defense, and a lot of it. The Peacocks showed up defensively, recording as a team 10 steals to go along with five blocks. In fact, the first basket scored by Sacred Heart didn't come until the last two minutes of the first quarter.
Offensively, the squad was powered by double digit scoring performances by
De'Naya Rippey and
Carys Roy. Rippey was the leading scorer for Saint Peter's adding another double double to her incredible season with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Roy was a two way monster for Saint Peter's, scoring 10 points, grabbing five rebounds and being the defensive stopper with four blocks to go along with two steals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER: Both teams exchanged in a defensive war early as strong defensive possessions led to easy steals from both squads, with
Louella Allana grabbing the first steal for the Peacocks. After three minutes with no scoring, Rippey knocked down the first basket on a euro step layup inside around the seven minute mark. Roy then added another two points on a perfect trip to the free throw line. Saint Peter's kept the scoring going with a deep triple at the top of the 3-point line by
Reilly Sunday to take a 7-0 lead halfway through the first quarter at the media timeout. Coming out of the timeout was more of the same from earlier as the defense by both squads took an early stand before an and-1 by the Pioneers scored their first points of the game with two minutes left in the first. Roy responded with a long mid range jumper to give the Peacocks their first basket out of the timeout. Roy added another basket to the total with a layup going around the baseline to make the score 11-4 with the final minute of the first quarter. A buzzer beater by Sacred Heart led to the end of the first quarter with momentum in favor of Saint Peter's in a 11-6 ballgame.
SECOND QUARTER: Sacred Heart scored four consecutive points to open up the second before Roy ended the run by knocking down a basket inside thanks to a perfect feed by Allana. The Pioneers kept the pressure up as the score sat at 13-12 in favor of the Peacocks before
Jayshlynn Vega drove inside and knocked down a beautiful layup to send the contest into a media break at a 15-12 score. Coming out of the timeout was a hot start by Sacred Heart, knocking down a deep triple to tie the game up before Rippey scored inside to keep the lead in favor of Saint Peter's. Rippey continued the scoring for the Peacocks on a spinning layup inside, and a defensive stop by the Peacocks led to the halftime buzzer sounding, and Saint Peter's out in front with a 19-17 score at the half, with the frontcourt tandem of Rippey and Roy combining for 13 points and Rippey grabbing nine rebounds by herself.
THIRD QUARTER: Rippey started the second half knocking down the first basket on an easy drive to the paint and laying the shot up at the rim. The Pioneers then tied the contest up on a pair of back to back baskets. Rippey hit the double digit point mark on a drop step layup inside and followed by dishing a pass inside to Roy to take the lead back with a 25-21 score around the six minute mark. The Pioneers took their first lead of the game with about four minutes left after a pair of jumpers from the outside to take a 26-25 lead heading into the media timeout. Rippey knocked down another basket in the paint coming out of the timeout to swing momentum right back to the Peacocks. The momentum pendulum swung back to the side of the Pioneers, with Sunday knocking down an incredible floater with the shot clock expiring to make it a one score game. However, in large part to an incredible shooting performance in the quarter by Sacred Heart, the score sat at 29-36 in favor of the Pioneers heading into the final quarter.
FOURTH QUARTER: The Pioneers knocked down the first basket of the fourth quarter with a deep triple to advance the lead to double digits. A perfect trip to the free throw line and then a layup inside led to a media timeout and the Peacocks down 29-43 with six minutes left in the quarter. Sacred Heart kept the scoring going out of the media timeout till a crucial steal by
Layla Laws led to a foul on Rippey and sending her to the line, knocking down one to end a scoreless run.
Laila Grant added to the score with a pair of free throws and
Jada Mills added another pair at the line to make the score 34-45 with three minutes left. Thanks to a solid defensive stretch by the Pioneers, the final buzzer sounded, ending the contest with a victory for Sacred Heart in a 34-47 final score.
The Peacocks will be back on the court in November of 2026. With back to back post season births, Saint Peter's looks to make it three in a row earning a spot in the postseason tournament.
