HARTFORD, CONN. (12/22/02) - Withstanding an early 14-0 run by #3/2 Connecticut (9-0), the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team hung tough through the first half before running out of gas at the finish and falling to the Huskies, 82-48 at the Hartford Civic Center. Junior Irina Krasnoshiok led the Crimson and Gray with 12 points and eight rebounds. UConn sprinted out to a 14-0 lead, before the Hawks were able to get their legs. SJU then managed to claw back into the contest, outscoring the Huskies 15-6 over the next four minutes to creep with in five, 20-15, with 9:46 remaining in the opening half. It was still an eight-point game and SJU had a chance to trim the lead closer with 4:14 left before the break. UC, however, closed the half on a 9-1 spurt to take a 37-21 lead at intermission. SJU opened the second half with a bucket by junior Stephanie Graff, but would get no closer the rest of the way as the defending national champs slowly began to pull away. SJU eventually completely ran out of gas at the finish with UConn outscoring them 19-5 over the final seven minutes. Connecticut capitalized on 27 Hawk turnovers, outscoring SJU 27-12 off miscues. UC also held a decided advantage in depth, maintaining a 37-6 edge in bench scoring. Besides Krasnoshiok, Graff added nine points and eight boards. The backcourt tandem of juniors Erin Brady and Amra Mehmedic also contributed eight points apiece. Natasha Pronga, a native of nearby Canton, Conn., played a career-high 29 minutes and tallied six points. Sophomore Diana Taurasi and freshman Barb Turner paced the Huskies with 17 points each, while Ashley Battle corralled 11 rebounds. The game was played at UConn's alternate home site, the Hartford Civic Center, where a capacity crowd of 16,294 were on hand. After playing three of its last four games on the road against nationally ranked opponents, SJU returns home for the Christmas holiday before hosting the 13th annual Hawk Classic at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse on December 28 and 29. The Hawks play UMBC in the tournament's first semifinal on Friday at 2:00 PM, while Hartford and Siena square-off in game two at 4:00 PM.