Women's Basketball Sneaks Past Saint Peter's, 54-52

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NEWARK, N.J. - Sophomore Kandice Green (Baltimore, Md.) scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as the Seton Hall women's basketball team edged Saint Peter's, 54-52.

Junior Ebonie Williams (Hagerstown, Md.) added 16 points for the Pirates (7-4), while Natasha Morris led the Peahens (2-6) with 15.

Green scored the first six points for the Pirates in a back-and-forth start to the contest, and the teams went into the first media timeout tied, 9-9.  The Peahens put together a 9-2 run, capped by a layup from Jynae Judson, to grab an 18-11 advantage with just under 12 minutes left.  

The Hall was back to with three after a pair of free throws from Williams made it 21-18 with 8:51 to go.  Senior Letitia Curry (Pennsauken, N.J.) hit 1-of-2 free throws on consecutive trips to cut it to one, but Alena Ali responded with a three-pointer to give Saint Peter's a 24-20 lead.

The lead was back to eight when Kaydine Bent scored on the interior with 1:42 remaining, but Green hit a pair of free throws just before the break to make it 30-24 at halftime.  She finished the first half with 16 points and seven rebounds, helping to offset 15 Pirates' turnovers.  The Peahens gave the ball away 16 times but managed to shoot 50.0 percent from the floor.

Morris' fast break layup with 16:48 to go gave Saint Peter's a 34-24 lead as the Pirates struggled early in the second stanza.  Williams got the Hall back on track with a three-point play at the 16:11 mark, and the Pirates were back to within six when freshman Terry Green (Bridgewaters, N.Y.) sank a three to make it 36-30.

Williams hit from deep for the Hall, followed by a free throw from Green that cut it to 36-34 with just over 14 minutes remaining.  The Pirates finally tied it up at 37 on another Williams three-point play at the 11:38 mark, and her driving layup a minute and a half later resulted in a 41-39 lead.

Green hit two free throws with 7:34 to go, and senior Ashley Booker (San Diego, Calif.) had a fast break layup moments later as the Pirates extended to a 50-44 lead.  The Peahens would not go away, going back up 51-50 after two Morris free throws with 3:56 to play, before Green put the Hall in front with a bucket inside on the ensuing possession.  The Peahens got the ball back trailing by two with 26 seconds left, but Ali missed from 15 feet and Riddick's put back attempt as the buzzer sounded was no good.

Seton Hall finished with a 35-31 edge on the glass and scored 26 points off 25 Peahens' turnovers.

The Pirates are back in action on Monday when they host UC Davis at 1:00 p.m.