ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Siena Heights women's basketball team (1-0) began the season at home with a 99-64 win over Grace Christian on Monday night. Peyton Banks (Jr. | Wadsworth, Ohio) led the charge with 28 points and nine rebounds on the night.
THE BASICS
Final Score: Siena Heights 99, Grace Christian 64
Location: Adrian, Michigan (SHU Fieldhouse)
Records: Siena Heights (1-0), Grace Christian (0-2)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The teams traded baskets in the opening two minutes as the Tigers held a 4-2 lead at the 8:21 mark. Newcomer E'Anna Won (Wadsworth, Ohio) hit a three-point jumper that gave the Saints a 5-4 lead and sparked a 5-0 run. Kelsey Wyman (Jr. | Blissfield, Mich.) hit her first three-pointer of the new campaign to increase the Siena lead to five points (13-8) with 5:51 remaining in the opening quarter. Wyman hit another three-point shot with 1:28 left to push the SHU advantage to nine points (24-15). Grace Christian responded with a 6-0 run to end the quarter and bring the score to 24-21 in favor of the Saints.
Shelby Morrow (Jr. | Flushing, Mich.) hit a layup to open the second period before Bre VanVleet made a shot that ignited a 5-0 run for the visitors and tied the game at 26 with just under 7:30 left in the half. Banks started a 6-0 run for the Siena and the blue and gold pulled ahead 32-26. The Saints pulled ahead during the remainder of the half as they went on two more 6-0 runs before ending the first half with a 10-0 run that put the score at 54-35 as the teams entered the locker room at intermission.
Bailey Fitzpatrick hit both free-throw attempts after being fouled by Morrow at the beginning of the third quarter. Siena cracked back with runs of 6-0 and 5-0 to increase the lead to 26 points (68-42) with 6:11 left in the third stanza. Grace Christian hit back-to-back three's for a 6-0 run that cut the deficit to 20 points. Sha'kyia Parker (So. | Grand Rapids, Mich.) drilled a three of her own that sparked a 13-0 run for Siena that spanned 3:02 of the quarter and put the score firmly out of reach at 81-48. The deficit only increased after a 7-0 run by Siena Heights ended the quarter with the Saints holding a 37-point lead.
The teams traded 9-0 runs to start the fourth before the teams traded spurts of points for the remainder of regulation.
TOP SAINTS
• Banks finished the night shooting 10-21 from the floor, 4-8 from three, and a perfect 4-4 from the line. She had a team-high nine rebounds, two steals, and an assist on her stat line.
• Parker scored 20 points on 7-10 shooting. She made 4-6 from three and 2-3 from the charity stripe while hauling in four rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
• Wyman finished with 18 points on 8-16 shooting from the floor and 2-5 from beyond the arc. She finished with six assists and seven rebounds.
SAINT DEBUTS
• Won scored five points and had a team-high seven assists, six rebounds, and a steal in her debut for SHU.
• Eva Alcock (Fr. | Tecumseh, Mich.) scored five points and three rebounds in her first collegiate action for the Saints.
• Jillian Gelso (Fr. | Ida, Mich.) tallied two points and three rebounds to start her career.
• Hadley Gratz (Fr. | Carleton, Mich.) saw three minutes of action in the game.
• Savanah Gibson (Sr. | Birch Run, Mich.) hauled in six rebounds off the bench in her debut in a Saint uniform.
THE OPPOSITION
• Megan George led the Tigers with 28 points (10-21 FG, 6-14 3PT)
• Bre VanVleet also tallied double-digit points with 10 for Grace Christian.
UP NEXT
The Saints will host Trine on Sunday, November 8 at 3:00 p.m., EST.
