Saint Peter’s WBB wins thriller over Rider to advance to MAAC Final

Saint Peter's Peacocks (13-14, 10-9 MAAC) women's basketball head coach Marc Mitchell talked in the post-game conference after the quarterfinal win against Iona about his team's resiliency. Dating back to last summer, he noticed the motivation of winning a championship. This time around, Mitchell's squad employed mental toughness.

"It's a collective mental toughness, I talk about it all the time, and we preach it," Mitchell explained. "That's why I'm so very, very hard on my players during the season. Every little thing bothers me during the season, and I nitpick at everything. This is exactly why you get into situations like this, whether it's a do or die and win or go home. These situations that these young ladies have been going through all season with me during practices and really tough losses, and we've learned from it, and now it's time for us to take that next step."

The latest task at hand was a matchup with then seventh seed Rider Broncs (8-18, 5-13 MAAC) who were on a roll, already winning two games in the tournament, including an upset over second seed Quinnipiac. During the regular season, the team's split the series.

The Peacocks were coming off a 61-50 quarterfinal victory over Iona.

Saint Peter's fell behind 11-3 four minutes into the first quarter, but came roaring back with an emphatic 15-0 run to take a 18-13 lead heading into the second quarter. Rider quickly erasing that lead with an 11-2 run to reclaim the advantage.

Broncs freshman Makayla Firebaugh was in the zone, tallying 11 points, including three trifectas. On the other hand, Peacocks junior Tyara McQueen made significant contributions by knocking down three triples. The last shot of the first half was the most impactful as the clock struck 0.2 seconds, leading to a Saint Peter's 38-32 lead at halftime. The Peacocks held the advantage on points off turnovers 17-6 and points in the paint 14-6 as the teams hit the break.

In the third quarter, the Peacocks offense was firing on all cylinders as the margin grew to as many as nine. Rider displayed a ton of tenacity to cut the gap down to 55-54 at the end of the third. The Broncs connected eight treys, outrebounded Saint Peter's 28-24 and dominated points in the paint 24-12. Rider sophomore Victoria Toomey asserted her will down low in the paint with 14 points.

The fourth quarter continued to be a heavyweight duel, with the Peacocks holding a slim advantage early on. As the quarter progressed, Rider twice clawed back to tie the game. With 2:23 remaining, Raphaela Toussaint sank a pair of free throws to put the Broncs up for the first time since the second quarter.

Stepping up in the clutch, Saint Peter's junior Binta Salawu canned a trifecta with less than two minutes on the clock to put the Peacocks back on top. Playing only five minutes in the contest, freshman Taylor Abraham provided some much-needed breathing room by nailing a jump shot as the shot clock expired at the one-minute mark.

After hitting 12 of 14 free throws through the first three quarters, Saint Peter's kept that hot streak going in the final frame, draining a perfect 6 for 6, including four shots in the final 25 seconds. Leading 70-67 with less than 20 seconds to go, Rider still had an opportunity to tie he game, but Daija Moses three-point shot rimmed out. Binta Salawu sank a pair of free throws to cement the 72-67 victory and the Peacock's first trip to the MAAC Championship Game since 2008.

Saint Peter's in the last two games has made 40 of 46 free throws.

Taiah Thornton poured in a game-high 16 points, while Binta Salawu and Kendrea Williams each netted 13 apiece. Ajia James contributed 12 points, and Tyara McQueen added 11. For Rider, Victoria Toomey totaled 17 points, Makayla Firebaugh dropped in 16, and Maya Hyacienth tallied 10.

Mitchell on the win, "That's being mentally tough, I talked about what it takes to win a championship, defense, and rebounding, but you also have to make free throws. We had these discussions; they have been rebounding the ball, getting key stops when we need to, so hats off to my players."

"Rider did a fantastic job of mixing their defenses; I just don't think that my kids in certain moments knew how to recognize that and attack it, so you have to give a lot of credit to Rider. It was a very challenging time for us today, but us being so connected with one another and our motto was as one, so us staying together and mentally tough. I think that kind of pushed together, the game is a game of runs, and I think we made one more play than they did today."

Rider head coach Lynn Milligan on the loss, "Obviously a really tough loss; I thought it was a really solid game, and congrats to Saint Peter's. They have had an outstanding year, and Marc's (Mitchell) done a great job. I thought it was fitting that we were both here in the semis, and they just made a couple more buckets that we did today."

"You know the direction of our team is that we're a top team in this league; we've been in the semifinals five years in a row and expectation of this program. We're going to keep developing this young group, we keep talk about wanting to get back here, finish the deal, and we're going to continue to fight for that. This group has progressed and grown throughout the year and gotten better and better, and I think we were the team that nobody wanted to play."

Saint Peter's faces off against the number one seed Marist (17-3, 13-3 MAAC) in the MAAC Championship Game on Saturday, March 13, at the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, with tip-off set for 11 a.m. Recently the team's split the regular season series.

"We just saw them on March 4 and 5, it's clear to me they were the best team in the league all season long, but the best team doesn't always win," said Mitchell. "I think it just comes down to who executes the best and who has the most fight in them and willing to get their knuckles and knees dirty, and it's going to be a street fight and who wants to fight the hardest that's the one who is going to win."