PHILADELPHIA (1/26/03) -Juniors Irina Krasnoshiok and Amra Mehmedic combined for 34 points and 13 rebounds to help the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team (11-7, 6-1 A-10) hold off Temple (6-12, 2-5) in a sloppily played game at the Liacouras Center. TU went on top in the opening minute of play and quickly built up a seven-point advantage, 10-3. SJU then turned to Krasnoshiok, who scored 18 of the Hawks' first 21 points. "When Irina plays well it tends to open up things inside," assessed SJU head coach Cindy Griffin. "She's been struggling the last three games. It was a matter of getting after it...She had a great game for us in the first half." Looking inside, St. Joe's whittled the lead down, until Krasnoshiok put SJU on top, 17-16, with 9:15 remaining. TU would briefly tie the score moments later, but a free throw by freshman Faith Gross and consecutive three-pointers by Krasnoshiok and senior Colleen McGahan game SJU a seven-point lead with 6:06 left. The Crimson and Gray would eventually lead by 10 points on two occassions late in the half held an eight-point lead at intermission, 29-21. Temple looked to increase the tempo of the game in the second half. SJU handled the pressure well in the early portion of the period, maintaining a seven to nine point buffer. The Owls hectic pace finally paid dividends as junior Chrisena Hamilton sparked an 8-0 run that was aided by three SJU turnovers. The spurt erased a an eight-point St. Joe's lead and tied the game, 35-35, with 8:43 to play. Just seconds after Temple tied the game on a free throw by Hamilton, Gross spun in the low post to give SJU a lead it would not surrender. The Crimson and Gray never lead by more than five-points the rest of the way, but stepped up to get key defensive stops and critical baskets down the stretch. Temple crept within a single point on three occassions, including once with just :30 seconds to play, 48-47. Mehmedic, however, split a pair of free throws to make it a two-point contest and account for the game's final margin. The Owls' Stacey Smalls had a chance to tie it with time winding down, but her driving layup was short of the mark and a put back by another Owl clanked off both sides of the rim before caroming away to give SJU the win. "We want to win the [A-10] East. That's our goal...We're going to go on a tough little stretch. Getting off to a good start here at Temple was very, very, very important," related Griffin. Neither team seemed compelled to claim victory in the game as the two team's combined for 40 turnovers. Likewise, both squad's struggled with their shotting touch. SJU shot 36.4% from the field and 58.3% (14-24) from the line, while the Owls hit at a 33.3% clip from the floor and 61.9% (13-21) at the stripe. The Hawks held a decisive edge on the boards, 39-30. They also held the edge in bench points, 11-3. Krasnoshiok finished with a game-high 21 points and six rebounds, while Mehmedic added 17 and seven caroms. SJU's three other starters, juniors Erin Brady and Stephanie Graff, as well as freshman Maura McBryan combined for just four points on 1-14 shooting. Smalls topped Temple with 16 points, while Hamilton added 14. The win gave SJU a regular season sweep of Temple, which took all three games from Saint Joseph's last season. The 49 points were the fewest by SJU in a win since defeating the Owls at the Fieldhouse, 49-41, on February 2, 1995. The Hawks resume play next Friday, when Xavier pays a visit to the Fieldhouse. SJU then travels to Richmond on Sunday.