SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – The Siena Heights women's basketball team pulled away late in a close game to earn a 73-65 win over Taylor on the first day of the Blue Devil Classic in Southfield, Michigan. Kayla Hinton impressed in her debut for the Saints as she led the team with a game-high 24 points.
Senior Peyton Banks netted 16 points and 12 rebounds to tally a double-double in the opening contest. Sha'kyia Parker also scored double figures with 13 points for SHU. The Siena Heights' defense caused 23 turnovers and outrebounded the Trojans 40-30 on the evening. Hinton added a team-high five assists while leading all players with four steals.
The game began with a steal from Eva Alcock as the Saints made their first three shots to hop out to a quick 9-2 lead in the opening 90 seconds. Back-to-back three-point jumpers from Taylor cut the lead to a single point, and the game moved into a back-and-forth affair for the remainder of the first quarter.
The second quarter moved like the end of the first, with SHU pulling ahead for a slight lead, only for the Trojans to battle back and tie things again. Taylor built a five-point lead in the final minute of the first half, but Banks scored a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to a single possession before the teams entered the locker room at the break.
Jillian Gelso hit a shot from distance to open the third quarter with a tie score of 32. Then, Hinton hit a three and a layup to spark a 7-0 run that built a six-point cushion for Siena. They would nurture that lead until the 3:41 mark of the third when the Trojans cut the margin to two points as the game moved into the final period.
Five-straight points gave the Trojans the lead in the opening minute of the fourth, but Allye Minor hit a jumper from beyond the arc to tie things up at 52 with 8:50 to play. The next 4:47 of play saw four lead changes until a layup by Taylor knotted things at 60. Hinton hit another shot from three to give the Saints a lead that they built to a 68-62 advantage with 1:54 left on the clock. The Trojans cut that deficit to three points but ran out of time as the Saints made free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
UP NEXT
The SHU women's basketball team will conclude the Blue Devil Classic with a game against Grace Christian tomorrow at 7:30 PM.
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