LIVONIA, Mich. -- The Siena Heights women's basketball team survived a late push from Madonna in a 64-60 win in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) opener on Wednesday night. The Saints (4-0, 1-0 WHAC) remain unbeaten after the close call against the Crusaders (0-7, 0-1 WHAC) inside the ACCU Arena.
Peyton Banks led the Saints in scoring for the fourth time this season as she netted 27 points and 16 rebounds for the third-consecutive double-double. Sha'kyia Parker scored nine points, and Madison Hamilton had eight. Allye Minor dished five assists in the game while also contributing with five points.
Banks registered nine points in the opening quarter as the score remained close throughout the first 10 minutes of play. SHU built a slight, six-point lead early, but the teams moved into the second quarter with a 16-13 advantage.
Siena Heights had a monster second quarter as the team used 23 points in the period to pull away from the Crusaders with a 39-23 lead at the half. Banks scored 10 of her 27 points in the quarter alone with pulling down four rebounds to complete her double-double before halftime. A 9-0 run extended the lead to double-digits, 25-13, before SHU extended the margin to 16 at the buzzer.
Both teams struggled from the three-point line in the third as they went 1-6 from deep. Scoring was also very close by both groups as the Saints just beat out the Crusaders, 14-12 in the quarter.
Madonna made its push in the final quarter as they outscored Siena Heights 25-11 in the last quarter. SHU's shooting struggles continued as the Saints went 3-12 from the floor and 0-5 from deep. The Crusaders used a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 55-47 with 5:55 left to play. Another run, this time of 5-0, cut the Saint lead to three (55-52) at the 3:29 mark. The Crusaders cut the score to two points with a three-pointer to make the score 62-60 with just 13 ticks left on the clock. Forced to foul, E'Anna Won made both free throws for the Saints as the visitors held on for the win.
Up Next
The Saints return home for their second WHAC matchup against Lawrence Tech on Saturday, November 13. The game is scheduled to tip at 7:00 p.m.
