Lauren Morris' 3-pointer helped the Peahens put away the Golden Griffens in a first-round game.
Saint Peter's center Quiana Porter, left, and Canisius guard Ashley Wilkes battle for a loose ball in the first half during a first-round game in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championships at the MassMutual Center on Thursday. Saint Peter's won 62-57.SPRINGFIELD – For those watching the Saint Peter’s women’s basketball team for the first time, it was puzzling why it had entered the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Championships with a record of 4-25, and hadn’t managed to win more often.
“That’s the question of the hour,” Saint Peter’s coach Stephanie DeWolfe said. “We’ve been trying to figure it out all year.”
There’s something the ninth-seeded Peahens have figured out, how to beat Canisius. For the second time in 19 days, Saint Peter’s beat the Golden Griffins, this time 62-57 in the opening round Thursday at the MassMutual Center. The Peahens advanced to a quarterfinal game at 1 p.m. Friday against No. 1 Marist College (22-7), the defending conference champion.
No. 8 Canisius (12-17) did come out on top once this season, 59-54 at home Jan. 7. Saint Peter’s answered with a 66-51 victory Feb. 12 at home in Jersey City.
DeWolfe said that Saint Peter’s just hasn’t been able to put together a set rotation.
“Just between injuries at different points of the season, when you think you’re headed in the right direction, and then someone else goes down, even if it’s only for a game or two, we’re still trying to find the right group that will click together on the court,” he said.
In a back and forth game where no team led by more than six points, Saint Peter’s senior forward Lauren Morris came through with a 3-pointer from the right corner that snapped a 55-55 tie with less than two minutes to play.
“It’s a shot I can definitely hit, I knew everybody had confidence in me, and I had all the confidence in the world to take it, I knew it was going down,” Morris said.
Jynae Judson, also a senior forward, had her way in the second half driving to the hoop. After Morris’ big bucket, Canisius freshman guard Kayla Hoohuli came right back up the court and hit on a jumper from the left side to pull the Golden Griffins within one at 58-57. Judson then drove through the paint uncontested to lengthen the lead to 60-57.
Judson was 1 for 7 in the floor the first half, and 5 for 6 in the second half to finish with 12 points and six rebounds.
“I had to make up for the first half,” Judson said. “I got two quick fouls and I was in and out of the game the whole first half. I had to contribute something.
“Usually Canisius was helping in the paint, but I saw the open lane, so I took what they gave me,” Judson said. “I wasn’t going to just settle for jump shots, I went straight to the hoop.”
Canisius, a much less experienced team, hurt itself with 26 turnovers.
There is not one senior on its roster, and one of the better juniors – Alison Braun – had missed the last 12 games of the regular season with a stress fracture. She managed to play for three minutes Saturday and scored a basket.
“That game is what cost us all year long, we turned the basketball over at an absolute alarming rate,” eighth-year Canisius head coach Terry Zeh said.
“Twenty-six turnovers isn’t going to win any basketball games at any level. I thought they made big shot, Lauren Morris had a huge game for them, making a couple of jump shots. Her three goes in, ours doesn’t. But if we don’t turn it over 26 times, it’s not even close.”
Zeh said that some of the turnovers were caused by a year-long inability to practice together as a healthy unit.
“We started the season with a really thin roster,” he said. “We lost one player to an ACL, and then Allison Braun to a stress fracture, and she’s our heart and soul. And then a couple of other players couldn’t practice, but could play, so therefore, we couldn’t get better as the season went on.”