PHILADELPHIA, PA (11/29/00) - For the second time in as many outings the St. Joseph's University women's basketball team (1-3) squandered a double-digit first half lead, as the Hawks were clipped at the end by St. John's 63-62. Junior Susan Moran again carried the Hawks scoring 24 points and grabbing 8 rebounds, while senior Latasha Thompson powered St. John's with 27 points. In the second half the contest was nip-and-tuck all the way with a three-point advantage the largest lead either team could establish. The lead changed hands seven times and the score was knotted on ten occasions. In the final minute of the game, senior Angela Zampella, who finished with 15 points and 7 assists, put SJU up 60-58 with an uncontested drive to the hoop. Following a time out, however, St. John's immediately pushed the ball forward and Thompson canned a three-pointer, her fifth of the game to put the Storm in front 61-60. A pair of free throws by Zampella gave the Hawks back the lead with 19 seconds to play, but on the ensuing possession Thompson received the ball in the low-post. She backed down and banked the ball off the glass and watched it run around the rim before falling through the twine with just 5 ticks left, to place St. John's up by a single point. St. Joe's inbounded the ball to Zampella, who rapidly pushed the ball into the forecourt, where she let fly an 18-footer, which clanked off the back of the rim as time expired. Clearly disappointed by the defeat, SJU head coach Stephanie V. Gaitley disscussed her team's inconsistency by saying, "It's frustrating when we get one end of the court going and the other end lets up." " They hit a lot of tough shots," added Moran about the Johnnies performance. "They won the game on our court. We have a lot of work to do if we want to beat some of the teams on our schedule." SJU built up a 12 point lead midway through the first half with the help of a 15-2 run. Zampella keyed the spurt for the Hawks tallying 8-points, including a pair of three-pointers, to give the Cityliners the lead 24-12. St. John's, however, stormed back to tie the game at intermission, 28-28. Thompson was critical for the Storm netting a pair of big three three-point baskets. Following the contest, Moran tried to take a positive outlook as SJU sets its sight toward the future, "We're tired of losing right now. We're heading to Kansas and we are going to end this streak." St. Joseph's will have little rest as it takes to the road tomorrow in preparation for the KU Credit Union Jayhawk Classic in Lawrence Kansas. The Hawks will square off against Minnesota in the opening round of the tournament on Friday at 5:00 p.m. In the second round either Eastern Illinois or the host Jayhawks will be waiting for SJU. It is the second time that the Crimson and Gray have participated in the Kansas Tournament, having also competed in the event in 1996.