SOUTHFIELD, Mich. -- The Siena Heights women's basketball team outpaced Ava Marie on day two of the Lawrence Tech Blue Devil Classic on Sunday. The Saints (3-0) pulled away in the fourth quarter to earn a 76-50 win over the Gyrenes (2-3).
Three Saints finished with double-figure scoring, led by Peyton Banks with 20 points on 8-18 shooting from the floor. Banks also hauled in a game-high 16 rebounds to record back-to-back double-doubles. Sha'kyia Parker tallied 14 points and Jillian Gelso scored 13 off the bench on an efficient 4-5 shooting afternoon. Allye Minor was active on defense as she led all players with four steals in the win. Minor also hauled in seven defensive rebounds. E'Anna Won was the major playmaker for SHU as she led with a game-high six assists while also pulling down six boards.
Siena Heights pulled away early in the first quarter with a 12-4 lead to open up the first four minutes of the contest. The advantage grew to 10 points (17-7) with just under four minutes left to play in the opening stanza. The lead got all the way up to 13 points when Gelso drilled a three-point jumper in the closing seconds to give SHU the 25-12 lead going into the second quarter.
The lead remained in the double-digits for much of the quarter until a 6-0 run for the Gyrenes cut the advantage to seven points (38-31) in the final minute of the half. Minor hit one of two free throws with 38 ticks remaining to put the lead up to eight as the teams entered the locker room at the half.
The Saints let Ava Marie hang around in the third as the lead hovered around 11 points for much of the quarter. A 6-0 run in the final three minutes pushed the Saint lead to 58-42 with one quarter left to play.
Siena finally pulled away in the fourth quarter with a 13-0 run that spanned almost five minutes and gave the Saints a commanding 73-48 lead with just under two minutes left in regulation and sealed the victory.
Up Next
The Saints begin conference play with a road game against Madonna this Wednesday, November 10 at 5:30 p.m.
