MAAC 2012 Women's Basketball Championship Bracket
Springfield, Mass. - With three players finishing in double-figures, the
Saint Peter's College Peahens (5-25, 5-14 MAAC) came away with a 62-57
first round playoff victory over the Canisius College Golden Griffins
(12-18, 6-13 MAAC). The game featured 15 lead changes and 8 tied scores,
with the Peahens attaining their last lead at the 2:03 mark, behind a
corner three from senior forward Lauren Morris. Prior to the victory,
the Peahens were just 1-2 against the Griffs in MAAC tournament
matchups. Saint Peter's will now advance to the Quarterfinals of the
tournament, and face the defending conference champions, Marist College,
at 1:30 pm tomorrow.
The Peahens entered the first media timeout of the
game trailing the Golden Griffins 5-4. Canisius came out of the
intermission on a 4-0 run, until a jumper by Morris made the score 9-6,
still in the Griffs' favor. Aminah Davis brought the Peahens within one
after going 2-2 from the charity stripe.
Saint Peter's took their first lead of the game in
the ninth minute, 15-14, after Jynae Judson connected on her first field
goal of the game. A layup by Quiana Porter fifty-six seconds later
extended SPC's lead to three points. Canisius' Ashley Wilkes hit one of
two free throws to break the Griff's three and a half minute scoring
drought and make the score 17-15. Morris connected on a jumper on the
following possession to put the Peahens up four (19-15) with 8:18 to go.
The Griffs regained the lead (24-22) for the first
time since the 11:56 mark, after a conventional three-point play by
Ashley Wilkes. The lead was short-lived, as Quiana Porter tied the game
following an offensive rebound and putback on the other end. Two made
free throws by Lovisa Hagberg and a floater in the lane by Aminah Davis
at 2:31 extended the Peahen's lead to four, but Kayla Hoohuli drained a
trey for Canisius to make it a one-point game.
Saint Peter's went 0-4 from the field in the final
two minutes, while Canisius closed out the half on a 7-0 run to head
into the break with a 31-28 advantage.
For the half, Saint Peter's shot 34.4% from the
floor, and went just 1-7 from three-point distance while Canisius shot
40.7% and 33.3%, respectively.
Saint Peter's started off the second frame outscoring
the Golden Griffens 7-2, but Jamie Ruttle scored five consecutive
points for Canisius to put the number eight seed ahead 39-37. Ruttle
also accounted for all 7 Canisius points to begin the half.
Canisius established their largest lead of the game at 10:32 after an Ashley Durham layup.
The Peahens slowly chipped away at the Canisius lead,
and finally knotted the score at 45-45 as Lauren Morris sank two free
throws (6:11). The Griffs took back a three-point lead after a
three-point basket by Jenn Morabito, but a jumper in the paint by Jynae
Judson brought SPC back within one. Morabito struck again for Canisius,
this time with a trey from the right wing (49-50).
Morris later tied the game again for Saint Peter's at
53-53, connecting on a layup down low, and soon thereafter gave the
Peahens a three-point advantage (58-58), their first lead since the
15:53 mark. Canisius would record just one more field goal in the game, a
jumper by Hoohuli, before the Peahens scored four consecutive points to
secure the 62-57 victory.
Overall, the Peahens shot 34.4% from the field and
20.0% from beyond the arc, with Canisius shooting 37.7% and 37.5%,
respectively. Although the Peahens were outrebounded 39-35, they forced
26 Griff turnovers and committed 16.
Saint Peter's shot 78.3% from the free-throw line on 18-23 attempts. Canisius shot 84.6% from the charity stripe (11-13).
Jynae Judson (12 points), Lauren Morris (13 points)
and Quiana Porter (13 points) all finished in double-figures for Saint
Peter's. Judson, who scored just 2 points in the first half, went on a
tear in the second frame and went 5-6 from the field to score 10 points.
The Golden Griffins also had three players in
double-figures: Kayla Hoohuli (11 points), Ashley Durham (11 points) and
Jamie Ruttle (10 points). Ashley Wilkes pulled down a game-high 16
boards for the Griffs.
Saint Peter's will take the court again tomorrow at 1:30 pm, to face off against the Marist College Red Foxes.