ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Siena Heights women's basketball team used a 19-0 run in the fourth quarter to pull ahead of (RV) West Virginia Tech on Sunday afternoon. Peyton Banks (Wadsworth, Ohio) led the Saints with 27-point, 12-rebound double-double in the win.
THE BASICS
Final Score: Siena Heights 84, West Virginia Tech 74
Location: Adrian, Mich. (SHU Fieldhouse)
Records: Siena Heights (2-0), West Virginia Tech (3-3)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Saints pulled ahead early with a 9-5 advantage in the first five minutes of the first quarter. A three-point shot and a four-point play from the Golden Bears had things at 18-12 in the final 40 seconds of the opening period.
Siena Heights went on a 5-0 run to start the second quarter and retake the lead 20-18. The Saints would build a six-point lead of their own (28-22) at the 5:19 mark in the second. West Virginia Tech cut the deficit to one point with just over 4:30 remaining in the first half, but SHU would use a 5-0 run and a three-point jumper to build an eight-point advantage that turned into the first double-digit lead of the game (42-32) with 50 seconds left before the half. The Gold Bears cut the Saint lead to nine points, 44-35, as the teams entered the locker room at intermission.
Banks hit a layup to extend the Siena Height lead to 11 points before a 6-0 run by WVU Tech shrank the lead to just five points with 8:33 left in the third. The Golden Bears knotted things back up at 51 with two good free throws with just 3:39 on the clock in the third stanza. The score remained close for the rest of the quarter with Siena holding the slimmest of margins (60-59) going into the fourth quarter.
West Virginia Tech hit a layup to take the lead, 61-60 as things got started in the final quarter. Shelby Morrow (Flushing, Mich.) made a layup that sparked the 19-0 run by the Saints that lasted for the next 6:09 and put the score at 78-61 in favor of the home team with just 2:44 remaining in regulation. A 10-0 run by the Golden Bears cut the SHU lead to single digits (82-73), but time would run out before they could complete the comeback.
Siena outrebounded West Virginia Tech 40-33. The Saints also had a 24-11 advantage in assists.
TOP SAINTS
• Banks was 9-17 from the floor, 1-4 from three, and a perfect 8-8 from the charity stripe to lead the Saints to the win.
• Kelsey Wyman (Blissfield, Mich.) finished with 19 points on 7-13 shooting from the floor. She hit three of her eight attempts from beyond the arc and was 2-2 from the free-throw line. She also tied for a team-high six assists in the game.
• Demi Russell (Toledo, Ohio) scored eight points and hauled in eight rebounds to contribute to the victory. Five of her rebounds gave the Saints second-chance opportunities.
THE OPPOSITION
• Alex Gray led the Golden Bears with 20 points.
• Brittney Justice and Laura Requena each pulled down seven boards.
• Carlie Biehl-Wilson led the team in assists with three.
UP NEXT
The Saints will remain at home to host Northwestern Ohio in the team's Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference opener on Tuesday, November 12. The opening tip is scheduled for 6:00 p.m., EST.
