PHILADELPHIA (03/04/02) - Rallying from a 13-point halftime deficit, Saint Joseph's (23-7) nearly wrestled the Atlantic 10 title away from Temple (20-10) . The Owl's, however, outscored SJU 10-2 in the final 1:46 to claim their first A-10 crown with a 63-58 victory at the Liacouras Center. Senior Susan Moran, who shot just 4-16 from the field, led four Hawks in double figures with 14 points. The guard tandem of Jane Meade and Amy Snell added 12 and 10 points, respectively. "I thought that the momentum was definitely shifting our way," reflected SJU head coach Cindy Anderson-Griffin. "We needed to make some plays down the stretch, both offensively and defensively. We put ourselves in position to win. Today just wasn't our day." Trailing for nearly the entire contest and down by as many as 14 points in the first half, SJU battled all the way back and knotted the game at 50-50 when Snell drained a three-pointer from the right corner with 5:53 remaining. After TU when back on top with a three by Natalia Isaac, the Hawks grabbed their first lead since the opening two minutes of the game when sophomore Amra Mehmedic banked home a driving layup and Meade dropped in a short pull-up jumper in the lane with 2:58 to go. A pair of free throws by sophomore Terraya Richardson gave SJU its biggest lead of the contest at 56-53 with 2:10 left. Another three-point basket by Issac knotted the game again at 56-56 and a layup by Lisa Jakubowicz, the younger sister of former Hawk Cindy Jakubowicz, put TU back on top for good with :50 seconds left. After the Owls Stacey Smalls split a one-and-one opportunity, Snell sliced the lead down to just a point with :17 left, 59-58. Two free throws by TU's Athena Christoforakis pushed the lead back to three points. Looking for a quick two points, SJU looked inside, but a couple of Hawk attempts in the low post missed the mark. Christoforakis then iced the contest with a pair of free throws for the final 63-58 margin. Richardson, pressed into duty because of foul trouble in the first half and later when Stephanie Graff fouled out of the ball game, had a tremendous game for the Crimson and Gray. Playing 11 minutes, she scored four points and added four rebounds, while providing the team with boundless energy off the pine. Temple dominated the boards, outrebounding SJU 42-26. The Hawks were particularly hampered by Graff being in foul trouble. She was limited to just eight first half minutes and 22 for the game before fouling out with 6:10 left to go. Graff finished with 11 points and four rebounds. Moran and Graff were named to the tournament's all-championship team. They were joined by Smalls and Jakubowicz of Temple and Xavier's Amy Waugh. Smalls was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Performer. The Hawks must now sit and wait for the NCAA Tournament committee to determine their fate. NCAA Tournaament pairings will be announced next Sunday, March 10. "I think that we deserve an NCAA bid," expressed Anderson-Griffin about her team's postseason possibilities. "I think you have to take a strong look at this team, especially the way we finished up." Just one Hawk team that won 20 games (21-8 in 1992-93) has been left out of the NCAA Tournament. Additionally, the A-10 has traditionally carried at least two teams into the NCAA Tournament. SJU, however, has an RPI in the 80s, a seemingly high number for a team to claim an at-large bid. Should the NCAA not come calling, the Crimson and Gray would be a prime candidate to host a WNIT game. Regardless of where they will be playing in two weeks, Moran and the Hawk seniors who have experienced the highs of winning the 1999 A-10 crown and making back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearance in 1999 and 2000, as well as the lows of last year's disappointing 15-13 season that was often overshadowed by issues away from the basketball court hope to have a chance to play on. "I hate losing. I absolutely love this team and the reason I hate losing so much is because I don't want it to end," reflected Moran. "I take pride in the fact this isn't going to end. We're going to move on. We've got some games left and that is what is so great about the whole experience right here this year."