Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: Siena at St. Peters, WBB

by Ray Floriani

JERSEY CITY, NJ - It was a pleasant homecoming for Siena guard Cristina Centeno. She led all scorers with 21 points as Siena defeated St. Peter's 57-40 in a women's game at Yanitelli Center on Saturday.

Outside of the Yaniitelli Center
looking south on Kennedy Boulevard
at St. Peter's College

Efficiency numbers:

		Off.
	Poss.	Eff.
Siena	65	88
St. Peter's	63	64

Siena entered the game a 64 possession team in MAAC play. Their efficiency margin was a +5 with an offensive mark of 85 and a defense of 80. A 40% opposing eFG percentage was further testament of their defense.

St. Peter's' possessions were at 68. The efficiency margin was a woeful -13. Good blame is on offensive struggles as the offensive efficiency stood at 79 and the defense 92. That defensive mark is respectable and the opposition's 45% eFG percentage and 26% turnover rate are further examples that St. Peter's can play some D.

The Four Factors:

		FTA
	eFG%	FGA	OR%	TO%
Siena	45	27	43	34
St. Peter's	31	15	40	33

St. Peter's led 28-22 in points in the paint and actually got to the line almost as frequently as Siena. They didn't capitalize on their chances and trailed in free throw rate. Siena shot 13 of 15 (87%) from the charity stripe while St. Peter's was 8 of 13 (62%).

St. Peter's struggled mightily getting any shot to go down. They were 0 for 8 beyond the arc. A tough shooting day, yes, but credit Siena's defense. They utilized a 1-2-1-1 full court press to wear St. Peter's down then defended very well in half court. The TO rate inflicted on St. Peter's is another indication of Siena's defense.

game action Siena-St. Peter's at Yanitelli

On their behalf St. Peter's did not defend that bad. The efficiency, eFG and TO rates of Siena bear this out. An 88 defensive efficiency mark should win you a lot of games. But not when you are putting up a 64 on your end of the floor.

Centeno a junior guard out of Belleville, Nj played her high school ball at nearby Marist in Bayonne. Her 21 points came on 7 of 13 shooting (2 for 3 from three). She was 5 of 6 from the line as well.

Serena Moore added 15 points, 12 rebounds. A 6-2 senior forward, Moore has the versatility to play inside and handle the ball against the press or on the perimeter.

Cristina Centeno's cheering section
with a sign for her # 25

Notes
Siena is 11-14 (9-6 in the MAAC). St. Peter's falls to 3-23, 3-12 in conference. Junior center Quiana Porter came off the bench to pace St. Peter's with 14 points. They were almost even in turnovers (Siena 22 St. Peter's 21) but the Saints were more opportunistic. They enjoyed a 22-15 edge in points off turnovers. Score was tied at 13 late in the half before Siena went on a 15-2 closing run to take a 28-15 lead into the locker room at the half. Siena has won three of the last four and visits Fairfield on Monday. St. Peter's has dropped eight straight and hosts MAAC leading and nationally ranked Marist on Monday. Siena coach Gina Castelli is in her 21st season at Siena. She was on the sidelines when St. Peter's coach Stephanie DeWolfe played for the Peahens in the late Nineties.

St. Peter's players
graciously host a post game autograph session
for local youth

Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: Iona at St. Peter's WBB

by Ray Floriani
JERSEY CITY, NJ - Throughout a difficult season the St. Peter's women have continued to work hard and persevere. Their efforts were rewarded with a 56-47 MAAC victory over Iona at Yanitelli Center on Thursday.

Sign outside Yanitelli.
Even this picture makes you feel the cold.

The efficiency numbers:

		Off.
	Poss.	Eff.
Iona	74	64
St. Peter's	73	77

The pace was probably a little quicker than both coaches would have wanted. It showed in some of the numbers in the Four Factors.

The game was a 32 possession affair at the half with the scored tied at 27 and the offensive efficiency 84.

The Four Factors:

		FTA
	eFG%	FGA	OR%	TO%
Iona	40	19	34	39
St. Peter's	39	21	31	25

Long time officiating friend Gary Schimel
just before play resumed

Neither team shot the ball well. Turnovers have been a problem for Tony Bozzella's Iona club but not at the magnitude of this evening. St. Peter's did not full court press but they did extend good half court ball pressure and force the Gaels into 29 turnovers. That came out to nearly twice as much made turnovers as made field goals (17). St. Peter's enjoyed a 22-8 scoring edge in points off turnovers which basically tells the story of this contest.

Freshman guard Aziza May gave St. Peter's a lift. Coach Stephanie DeWolfe noted that May had been struggling but hoped this would be a "reinforcement of what we work with and tell her in practice." May showed a nice mid range touch, scored 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting and added 6 steals to the St. Peter's cause. Another interesting, actually amazing, stat showed the 5-3 freshman leading all rebounders with 8.

Probably a good night for rebounding guards as Iona's backcourt of Diana Hubbard and Marissa Flagg tied for their team lead (with forward Anda Ivkovic) with 6 boards.

Iona simply struggled all over in the shooting department. They were just 9 of 22 (36.4 %) from the line. Just barely edging their 36.2% (17 of 47) from the field.

St. Peter's did not find the range as easy (37%) either. Only May and Jynae Judson (9 of 16) surpassed 50% from the field.

Despite giving up a size advantage inside, St. Peter's did a respectable job on the boards as Iona had a slight edge in the offensive rebounding percentage.

That Iona size did give them a 26-18 edge in points in the paint. Which is why perimeter contributions from the likes of May were so important to St. Peter's.

Game was delayed 20 minutes due to a campus wide power outage that lasted a brief time.

Numbers
St. Peter's improved to 2-14 (2-3 in the MAAC).
Iona is now 5-12 and 1-4 in conference. Gaels were led by sophomore guard Diana Hubbard with 20 points. Hubbard is an East orange, NJ native who starred at powerful Bloomfield tech. Judson of St. Peter's paced all scorers with 20 points.

The celebration after a well earned victory

Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: Manhattan at St. Peters, WBB

by Ray Floriani
JERSEY CITY, NJ - For most of the contest the St. Peter's women were right there. In the stretch Manhattan was able to build its narrow lead, pull away and defeat St. Peter's 58-44 at Yanitelli Center on Monday.

Efficiency numbers:

		Off.
	Poss.	Eff.
Manhattan	59	98
St. Peter's	60	73

St. Peter's came into the game with a 71 possession pace while Manhattan was in the sixties (65 per). Advantage Lady Jaspers for dictating their tempo and game pace. St. Peter's tried to extend the defense to three quarter court on a few occasions. Manhattan, would not rush things and after getting over half court ran their regular offense.

The Four Factors:

		FTA
	eFG%	FGA	OR%	TO%
Manhattan	36	40	49	20
St. Peter's	38	22	46	38

Officials (l to R) Carmen Portorreal, Kathy Lynch and Kevin Sparrock
confer during a time out.

Neither team really lit it up from the floor. But in a game of this type, a one or two possession with four ties and seven lead changes, burning your possessions on turnovers is inexcusable. St. Peter's was guilty of 23 turnovers. In a slower 60 possession game as this, it meant almost 4 of every 10 possessions was wasted. Again, inexcusable in a close game, or any game.

Jynae Judson had a solid outing for St. Peter's. The 5-9 junior scored 10 points and had a game high 10 rebounds. On the negative side, Judson led the way with 7 turnovers.

For a good part of the second half it was a stretch Manhattan was able to finish a few inside while St. Peter's still could not find the mark. In the last two minutes St. peter's coach Stephanie DeWolfe ordered her team to foul. The Lady Jaspers (21 of 25 for the game) were successful from the charity stripe and closed out the contest.

Defense
Manhattan coach John Olenowski directed a prep power at Morris Catholic (NJ) High School. Olenowski's teams were known for a very disruptive and active 1-3-1 half court defense. At Manhattan Olenowski has employed the 'signature' 1-3-1 and occasionally falls back into a matchup zone to keep the opposition out of synch. As the numbers bear out, the Lady Jasper defense was not only effective in field goal defense but getting in the passing lanes, getting deflections and causing turnovers.

Numbers
St. Peter's falls to 1-14 (1-3 in the MAAC). Manhattan improves to 10-5 (3-1 in the MAAC). Jessica Coles paced St. Peter's with 16 points. A 6-fot senior forward Coles operated inside and out to fifteen foot range. Abby Wentworth (21 points) and Lindsey Loutsenhizer (19) led the way for Manhattan.

Late game action at Yanitelli Center

Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: Fairfield at St. Peter's Women's Basketball

by Ray Floriani

JERSEY CITY, NJ - In MAAC women’s meeting on Friday night, St.Peter’s defended their way to a 55-41 decision over Fairfield at Yanitelli Center. The efficiency and four factors in a pedestrian 58 possession game (Fairfield 59 St. Peter's 57):

			FTM
	ORtg	eFG%	FGA	OR%	TO%
Fairfield	70	30	17	33	22
St.Peter’s	97	38	23	60	26

Scoring has been a problem for Fairfield in conference play. Entering the game these were a few of their numbers on the offensive end.

	O Eff.	eFG%	2FGM%	PPG
Fairfield	88	43	41	56.6

The Stags haven’t fared well in the paint or beyond the arc either. Their three point percentage is 32%. On the defensive side their defensive efficiency is 94. That’s pretty good D but that offensive number is responsible for a -6 efficiency margin and a sub .500 conference record.

The story tonight was defense. Fairfield struggled from the floor and had a poor OE. Credit St.Peter’s for a tough defense that gave few good looks. Defense and hustle also resulted in a notable 60% offensive rebounding percentage. Stephanie DeWolfe’s club simply hustled on both ends of the floor.

Fairfield did not have a player in double figures. They were led by senior forward Tara Flaherty with 9 points and the only Stag to shoot 50% (3 of 6) from the field. The Stags trailed 28-13 at the half. They scored five field goals the first four minutes of the second half but that was their best stretch. On the evening they managed only 15 field goals.

St.Peter’s had two players hit double figures and was paced by senior guard Natasha Morris with 17 points. Rapidly improving sophomore center Quiana Porter added a significant 13 rebounds and 4 blocks to her six points.

Turnover rate was high for St.Peter’s but when you defend as well as they did and have a 19-6 advantage in second half points and hit 13 of 17 from the line, there are a lot of pluses to look back on.

Katelyn Linney. Had a chance to meet Linney (pictured) after the game. She is a Fairfield freshman, third in scoring at 10.4 PPG. Last season she played on the New Jersey TOC champion St. John Vianney. Yours truly had the opportunity, or honor, to officiate the game she scored her 1,000th point, a January win over Oak Hill at Monmouth University. Vocal on the floor and very active, Linney has a great outside touch. Tonight, as with her teammates, it was not a game for the archives. She scored 7 points but was 1 of 7 beyond the arc.

Records. Fairfield is 10-12, 4-7 in conference. St.Peter’s, winners in three of their last four, is 9-13, 5-6 in the MAAC.

“It was a good effort. We executed and they (Fairfield) didn’t get any easy looks….(Natasha) Morris is playing point. She’s not a natural point but does what we need.” - St.Peter’s coach Stephanie DeWolfe

Fairfield's Katelyn Linney

Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: At Marist vs St. Peter's Women's Basketball

by Ray Floriani

JERSEY CITY, NJ- Marist women, the team to beat in the MAAC, defeated St.Peter’s 70-55 at Yanitelli Center Saturday afternoon.

The efficiency and factors in a 67 possession game.

	Off		FTA
	Eff	eFG%	FGA	OR%	TO%
Marist	105	48	41	30	22
St.Peter’s	82	37	25	37	22

Marist entered the game with a +14 efficiency margin (103 offense 89 defense). The final numbers were a slightly better efficiency-wise, than their pre-game margin.

The turnover rate was a bit high for coach Brian Giorgis’ liking. The Red Foxes entered the St.Peter’s game with a 19% TO rate. Both teams had 15 turnovers.

Marist’s free throw rate (FTM/FGA) seems high. The result was due to the visitors shooting 100% (21 of 21) from the charity stripe.

Defense is a major factor in Marist’s success. The defense is present both inside and on the perimeter. Two point opposing FG percentage entering the game was 38%. Opposition fared less favorable beyond the arc with a .299 percentage. St.Peter’s shot 33% from two and was 43% , but attempted only 7 (making 3) from downtown.

The Red Foxes led by sophomore guard Corielle Yarde with 18, had three players in double figures scoring. Rachele Fitz, a two time MAAC Player of the Year, seemed to have a quiet game. The stat sheet revealed the senior forward as posing a 17 point 10 rebound game. A seemingly very quiet game but the type that is the norm for Fitz.

Inside/outside balance. Marist had 21field goals, seven beyond the arc. Shot charts show the first seven Marist FG included three (two by sophomore guard Kristine Best) from three point range, three in the paint and a foul line jump shot. A well rounded distribution to start. In the end, Marist had 21 field goals, seven from beyond the arc.

Hustle to the buzzer. The score was 2-2 when Marist went on a 17-1 run. At the half the Red Foxes led 34-19. St.Peter’s constantly looked at double digit deficits but kep working. Evidence is in the OR% percentage as noted in their favor. Overall St.Peter’s out rebounded Marist 35-33 with a 14-9 edge on the offensive boards. An appreciable part of rebounding, especially against a bigger opponent, is drive, continuous work and hustle.

Very deceptive bench scoring total, 31-10 in favor of St.Peter’s. Marist has depth but the starters did most of the damage in this game. Also St.Peter’s had senior guard Natasha Morris and junior center Charlene Riddick (9) account for most of the bench scoring.

The records. Marist is now 13-4 with a perfect 5-0 in the MAAC. St.Peter’s is 6-10, 2-3 in conference play. St.Peter’s was led by Morris with 16 points (3 of 4 from three).

“They can all shoot. They can get in the lane and hit the three pointer. Each time they have four or five shooters on the floor and if they miss they have a great chance of rebounding. They play great together. They are very, in a word, efficient” - St.Peter’s coach Stephanie DeWolfe on what makes Marist so formidable.