PHILADELPHIA (01/27/02) - Saint Joseph's (15-4, 6-2 A-10) erased an 11-point second half deficit, but Temple (11-8, 6-2 A-10) connected on eight of ten free throw in the final five minutes to defeat the Hawks, 66-59, in a classic city game at the Fieldhouse. SJU was led by Susan Moran's 24 points and 9 rebounds, while the Owls received 18 points apiece from Athena Christoforakis and Natalia Isaac. "I thought that both teams played really hard," stated SJU head coach Cindy Anderson-Griffin. "It was survival of the fittest at the end....You have to give Temple a lot of credit. They came in here ready to play. We did a pretty good job handling their pressure. We got shots, we just didn't make them. Next time we'll make them. In nine days in fact." Temple's head coach Dawn Staley agreed, "It was a great game. We knew coming in what the situation was going to be like. They are a team that plays for 40 minutes. We looked forward to the challenge. We played hard and we kept our composure down the stretch." A game of runs, Temple would push the lead out and the Hawks would battle back into contention. Leading by seven at the half, Temple extended its lead out to 11 points (38-27) less than two minutes into the second half on a layup by Christoforakis and a pair of free throws by Lisa Jakubowicz. A 9-0 Hawk run, however, sliced the lead down to just a bucket, 38-36. Sophomore Amra Mehmedic capped the string with a layup and a three-point basket from the right side. Stepping up their defense, the Owls weathered the storm. Pressuring the ball up and down the court, TU built the advantage back up to 11 points (53-42) with 9:14 to play. Stacey Smalls scored eight straight points for the Cherry and White, connecting from the paint the stripe and beyond the arc. Back down by double digits, the Hawks could have rolled over. Instead, SJU retaliated with a 13-0 spurt that gave the Crimson and Gray the lead with 5:23 left, 55-53. It was the team's first lead since the 8:51 mark of the first half. Moran scored six points during the run, while Stephanie Graff added four points and Elizabeth "Hootie" Mohan nailed a key three from the top of the arc. "Down eleven, we made a run. We had to go to our bench to get some more energy," assessed Anderson-Griffin. "We responded, tied the game up twice, but turned the ball over a couple of times. We a some little chippies and missed." Down the stretch, the Hawks had their opportunities, but could not get their shots to fall. Temple meanwhile connected on eight of ten from the charity stripe and also received key baskets by Christoforakis and Small to hang on for the victory. A back-and-forth battle throughout the first half, neither team led by more than four points, until Temple created some space just before halftime. The Owls scord seven of the final nine points of the period. TU led at the break 34-27. Moran again led the Hawks with 24 points, but struggled from the field for the third straight game, shooting just 5-21 from the floor. The Tullamore, Ireland native did hit on 14 of 18 from the stripe, both numbers were career-highs. She also inched closer to Dale Hodges' SJU career scoring record. Moran now has 2,039 points and is just 38 points of Hodges mark of 2,077. Besides Moran, Graff finished with 11 points and 9 boards. Mohan also had her second straight strong game with 7 points. Temple received 16 points from Smalls, besides the 18-points by Christoforakis and Isaac. Neither team shot well from the field, but Temple held a slim advantage hitting on 39.0% from the floor to just 36.7% for the Hawks. The Hawks are off all week and will return to the court next Sunday, February 3 against Fordham at the Fieldhouse. The Hawks and Owls will meet again in an official Big Five game on February 5. Tomorrow evening, Moran will be recognized at the Philadelphia Sports Writers annual awards dinner.