FAIRFIELD, CONN. (December 17, 2014)—Gabrielle Washington (Mesa, Ariz.) led the Pioneers with 20 points as the Sacred Heart women's basketball team suffered a 75-65 loss to Siena Wednesday night in the William H. Pitt Center. Sophomore Adaysha Williams tallied her first career double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, flirting with a triple-double dishing out seven assists.
Siena hit the first two shots for an early 4-0 lead before Williams landed two of her own tying the game. A 7-2 run gave the Saints back the lead, 11-6. Washington snapped the streak, but SHU turnovers and poor shooting allowed Siena to extend its lead in the first half to 18-11. The Pioneers rallied from that point and with With 7:40 left in the half, Washington found Katie Shepard (Lone Tree, Colo.) at the top of the key. The senior netted a triple to knot the game at 20, but the score tipped back in Siena's favor with Margot Hetzke's layup.
Minutes later it was Shepard again who tied the game at 25 with a layup. On Siena's next possession,
Hannah Kimmel (Harpursville, N.Y.) intercepted a pass allowing
Alissa Tarsi (Clinton, N.J.) to lay one in from the post giving SHU its first lead of the game, 27-25.
Exchanging baskets until the halftime buzzer, the teams went into the break tied at 38.
Sacred Heart came out firing in the second half putting up nine unanswered points in the opening three minutes forcing the Saints to call a timeout. SHU extended its lead to 56-43 on a Washington jumper.
The Saints came back using an 18-2 tear to reclaim the lead, 61-58, as they held the Pioneers scoreless for over four minutes. Sacred Heart could never recover as Siena held them to just four more points through the rest of the game.
Sacred Heart closes the non-conference slate when they travel to Villanova Saturday for a 7:00 p.m. game.
