PHILADELPHIA (3/7/04) - With its season hanging in the balance, Saint Joseph's fittingly had its five seniors on the court. It was their clutch performance that boosted the Hawks into the Atlantic 10 Championship game for the second time in the past three years with a 70-57 win over George Washington on Sunday afternoon. The group, which received 18 points each from seniors Stephanie Graff and Irina Krasnoshiok, accounted for all but six of SJU's 70 points. St. Joe's (20-9) will face Temple in tomorrow's finals at 5 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2. The Hawks, which handed the Colonials their only home conference defeat in January, played arguably their best game of the season. Senior Amra Mehmedic, who finished with 14 points, connected on three triples early in the first half to force GW out of its patented zone defense. Her three-pointer at the 11:27 mark of the first half gave SJU a 17-15 lead, an advantage it wouldn't relinquish. Saint Joseph's opened up an eight-point lead at the 4:09 mark as freshman Ayahna Cornish drew contact on two drives to the basket and made all four free-throws. George Washington scored six straight points, four by Valerie Williams to bring within 29-27, but Krasnoshiok hit the first of her clutch three's with 42 seconds remaining to give the Hawks a 32-27 lead going into the locker rooms. George Washington got within two once again with 17:24 to play, but the Hawks went on a 12-2 with Graff providing the punch. She kicked off the spurt with a layup and after Mehmedic's fourth and final three of the game, scored the next seven points to put SJU up 46-36. A Krasnoshiok jumper closed out the run at the 11:59 mark giving St. Joe's what appeared to be a comfortable lead. The Colonials went on a 6-0 run late in the game to draw within four at 57-53 with 5:54 to play. With its season on the line, the Hawks and its senior class, stepped up when they were needed most. Senior Erin Brady banked a short jumper in the lane with the shot clock winding down and Krasnoshiok followed a minute later with a back-breaking three that sealed SJU's ninth trip to the A-10 Finals. "She's come up big this whole tournament," head coach Cindy Griffin said. "Her three-pointer is like a lay-up." Saint Joseph's kept the Colonials at bay by making 5-for-6 from the line and Krasnoshiok added a long three for good measure with the shot clock winding down. "It was a team effort down the stretch getting stops," Griffin said. "All the seniors really stepped up and when we needed our younger kids to step up, they really did." Awaiting SJU in the championship is Temple, a 64-62 winner over Richmond. The Owls won both meetings against SJU this season by a total of three points. The game will be broadcast by ESPN2 at 5 p.m.