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Saint Peter's Slips Past Saints, 58-54
Jan. 13, 2008
Jersey City, N.J. - The Siena women's basketball team let its seven point halftime advantage slip away as Saint Peter's (12-4, 4-1) stole a 58-54 victory this afternoon in Jersey City. Senior forward Laura Menty paced the Saints with a game-high 24 points and reached the prestigious 1,500-point milestone for her career. The loss marks Siena's (5-10, 1-4) second straight and sixth in its last seven games. The Saints got off to a rocky start with five turnovers on its first six possessions. Menty cured the early setback with six of the Saints first eight points. At the 16:22 mark, Menty connected on a fast break lay-up to give Siena its first lead of the contest and put her over the 1,500-point milestone. She is just the seventh player in program history to reach this landmark and just the fifth player since Siena turned Division I in 1983-84. Menty posted 14 of her game-high 24 points in the first half leading the Saints to a 30-23 advantage at intermission. Siena shot a solid 54.5% (12-22) from the field during the first stanza to the Peahens 33.3% (10-30). The lead changed seven times over the first 20 minutes of action. In the second half, the Saints open a nine point advantage at 44-35 following a Heather Stec three point play at the 10:15 mark. Although, the Peahens battled back into the contest and took a 51-50 lead thanks to Natasha Morris jumper with 3:17 remaining. Morris paced the Peahens with a career high 19 points, including 15 in the second half. After the teams went scoreless for the next two and a half minutes, Morris sunk a three pointer to extend the Saint Peter's lead to 54-50 with 49 seconds remaining. Junior guard Shondaya Burrell answered with a slashing lay-up moments later to cut the deficit to two. Following two missed free throws by Johnell Burts, Stec's potential game-tying lay up attempt was blocked by Charlene Riddick to secure the victory.
Menty finished a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line, and has now converted on 37 of her last 38 attempts. Burrell added eight points complemented by five assists and a career high 11 rebounds in the losing effort. Riddick tallied a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds off the Peahens bench, while Johnell Burts added five assists, moving her to the top of the all-time list in Saint Peter's history. The win marked Saint Peter's sixth straight and improved them to a perfect 9-0 at the Yanitelli Center this season. The Saints conclude their three game MAAC road swing on Friday night when they take on Loyola in Baltimore. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m. |
