ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Siena Heights women's basketball team outpaced Aquinas in the quarterfinals of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) tournament inside the SHU Fieldhouse on Tuesday evening. The third-seeded Saints (24-7) made 12 shots from beyond the arc to push past the sixth-seeded Saints in maroon to advance to the tournament's semifinals.
Anaya Powell had a big night for SHU as she was 5-10 from the three-point line to a total of 17 points. The senior guard also pulled down four boards, swiped two steals, and dished an assist. Peyton Banks also scored 17 points on 7-13 shooting from the floor while also hauling in 11 rebounds to complete her 12th double-double this season. Sha'kyia Parker netted 14 points on 5-11 shooting while adding three rebounds, two assists, and a steal to her stat line.
Parker got things going with a three in the opening 90 seconds, which briefly gave Siena a 3-2 lead. Aquinas' two layups gave the visiting Saints a 6-3 advantage (the largest lead for Aquinas) with 4:19 left in the opening quarter. Powell scored the first two points of her eight-points total in the first to cut the deficit to just a point, 6-5. Banks added a layup on the following possession to grab a lead before two free throws by Aquinas flipped the advantage back toward the visitors. Powell then made a jumper from deep on the next two possessions, and the hometown Sants moved ahead 13-8 in the final minute. Two free throws by the AQ Saints cut the SHU lead to three points as the quarter ended.
Allye Minor hit a three that sparked an 8-0 run in the second for Siena as the team extended its lead to 21-12. Powell hit another three-point shot for the game's first double-digit lead (24-14), with 4:02 remaining in the first half. Aquinas completed a 5-0 run in the closing minute to cut its deficit to five points as the teams entered the locker room at the half.
The visiting Saints used a 5-0 to pull within a point of tying things up at 29 points in the opening 5:31 of the third. Two free throws by Banks extended the cushion to five points until Parker made two three-point jumpers during a 7-0 run that closed out the third frame with the score at 41-30 in favor of SHU.
The SHU Saints took over from there in the fourth, with Powell making a three before Banks completed a 5-0 run by herself to pull the lead to 15 points with 8:02 remaining in the game. Powell then hit another three to ignite a 7-0 run that ended with a layup from Madison Hamilton that pushed the margin to 56-36 with 4:35 left on the clock--this was the largest lead of the game. With time running out, Siena Heights maintained the double-digit favor for the remainder of the contest.
Up Next
With the win, the Siena Heights women's basketball team advances to the semifinals of the WHAC Tournament. The Saints will travel to face the second-seeded Rochester Warriors on Friday, February 25. The starting time for that contest will be announced at a later date.
