Saint Peter’s relying on its defense amid its shaky playoff situation

Against Fairfield Thursday night, it was a mix of both.

The general hope is that the Peacocks’ defense will earn them the wins, and they tried to employ this tactic against Fairfield. But, their defense against the Stags five-out offense was as ineffective as a band aid is to a bullet wound. The Peacocks lost 73-43. They tried to adjust their defensive looks between the 2-3 zone and a man-defense, but it didn’t work.

Fairfield beat Saint Peter’s everywhere and in nearly every positive statistic while shooting 56.9% as a team and outscoring their opponents 44-10 in the paint.

Saint Peter’s defense, which currently sits fourth in the league, is what’s keeping its last-in-the-league offense in playoff contention. The Peacocks are tied for tenth in the MAAC standings with Manhattan at 5-8, right at the cut line for the MAAC Tournament. That’s why, for the Peacocks, everything hinges on the defense. Every slide, every matchup, every miss, every basket after a stop adds up to a potential postseason berth — or not — for Saint Peter’s.

“It’s like what Al Pacino says in ‘Any Given Sunday,’” Saint Peter’s head coach Jennifer Leedham told The Next postgame. “It’s inch-by-inch … one little inch, that’s the difference.”

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With Niagara and Sacred Heart entrenched in the bottom, the Peacocks are in a collection of five teams — Manhattan, Rider, Canisius and Merrimack the other four — fighting for four precious sports in the MAAC Tournament.

That’s why, down more than 20 points and out of the game late in the fourth quarter Thursday night, Leedham and her Saint Peter’s squad kept at it. Her bench was on the floor, but it didn’t matter. All 40 minutes matter, even if the Peacocks are not playing well all 40, or even if they have their second unit out on the court.

“The consistencies of putting 40 minutes together is what the difference [between making the tournament and not] is for us,” Leedham said/

The bench was still watching, still shouting “D up!” Associate head coach David Jollon still shouted commands like “get back!” to his defensive unit. And the Peacocks’ bench exploded as if they tied the game when sophomore guard Lara Aguzzi scored her first points of the season.

Saint Peter’s wasn’t withdrawn or sullen in the final minutes, like one would expect from a team that’s losing by more than 20. The Peacocks aren’t strangers to losses, especially on the road. They sit 7-15 on the season and 1-12 on the road. Saint Peter’s is the second-worst road team in the MAAC (Niagara is 0-13), and four of its next seven games are on the road.

Those 15 losses each sting in a different way. A blowout against St. John’s in the season opener, and Thursday night’s contest, sting differently than a loss at Quinnipiac where the Peacocks led the No. 2-seeded team in the MAAC into halftime, or a home loss to Rider where they dropped a fourth-quarter lead. 

Saint Peter’s lost a game where it shot 20.8% from the field (at Marist), and a game where it shot 50% (at Fordham). 

Peacocks struggle with lack of offensive prowess

Every loss is different, but there are some common themes among each of them; one, a lack of options on offense.

The Peacocks have sophomore forward sensation Fatmata Janneh, but not much else. The London native is averaging a double-double (18.6 points per game, 10.4 rebounds). She’s second in scoring and first in rebounding in the conference. Graduate guard Laila Grant is the next closest scorer that’s played at least 30% of the team’s games. She’s averaging 7.4 ppg on 3.1 rebounds.

Janneh is paired brilliantly with junior guard Louella Allana, whose pass-first mentality has pushed her into 13th in NCAA Division I with 5.8 assists per game. Allana’s leadership is crucial to the Peacocks success.

“When we’re down, we stay together,” Janneh told The Next. “My point guard, Louella, she kept us together.”

But postgame in the bowels of Leo D. Mahoney Arena, Allana and the rest of Saint Peter’s are exhausted together. All they want to do is grab their food packaged in brown paper bags with their names on it and get on the bus back to Jersey City.

They’re in Black Adidas puffer jackets, black sweatpants and a Saint Peter’s basketball shirt underneath the jacket. They’re waiting around, on their phones, to board the bus. Once it’s there, they slowly make their way down the narrow hallway from the visitors’ locker room to the bus. They have about a two-hour ride waiting for them.

Losing stinks, and Leedham and the Peacocks know that all too well. Leedham also knows that Saint Peter’s can’t lose much between now and the MAAC Tournament. The Peacocks’ bid to Atlantic City hinges on winning most of these next seven games. 

“If we take care of business, we should be okay,” Leedham said. 

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