WASHINGTON, DC (1/10/04) - Saint Joseph's landed the first punch in the matchup of Atlantic 10 heavyweights with a gritty 64-62 win over defending champion George Washington in front of a national television audience on Saturday afternoon in the nation's capital. The Hawks, which placed four players in double-figures, nearly saw a six-point lead evaporate in the final 13 seconds but held on for the team's biggest win in head coach Cindy Griffin's three-year tenure. A back-and-forth battle for the entire second half, the scoreboard was all knotted up at 49 with 6:37 remaining. SJU (8-4, 3-0 Atlantic 10) would then go on a 7-1 run to open a 56-50 lead with 3:36 to go, the largest Hawk advantage since late in the first half. The reigning A-10 Player of the Year, GW's Cathy Joens, then hit a three-ball and a layup that cut the St. Joe's lead to just one with 2:30 remaining, but senior Amra Mehmedic connected on a clutch three from the corner that put SJU ahead 59-55. According to GW head coach Joe McKeown, the shot was a back-breaker for his troops. Free throws from seniors Erin Brady and Irina Krasnoshiok gave the Hawks a 63-57 advantage with 13 seconds to go. But like the finals of the Hawk Classic two weeks ago when SJU saw a five-point lead vanish in the closing seconds, things became very interesting. A turnover on a Saint Joseph's inbounds play led directly to an Anna Montanana three-pointer that put the Colonials within three at 63-60. George Washington (8-5, 2-1) was forced to foul, sending Brady to the line for two charity tosses. The co-captain missed both, giving the hosts life in the waning moments. With only two ticks on the clock, Joens was fouled on a three-point attempt, giving her a chance to tie the game by hitting all three from the line. The senior, who finished with 16 points, connected on the first two with no problem. Griffin then called a timeout to ice the shooter, which is exactly what happened. Joens' free throw went halfway in before rimming out and senior Elizabeth "Hootie" Mohan grabbed the rebound to send the Hawk faithful into a frenzy. The Hawks put themselves into a position to win thanks to a strong start. An 11-0 run broke a 4-4 tie in the early going as SJU handled George Washington's fabled full-court pressure with ease. The Crimson and Gray controlled the game for the first half of the opening stanza, but ran into trouble when Brady and senior Stephanie Graff each picked up their second fouls and quickly found a seat on the bench. Freshman Ayahna Cornish did her best to pick up the slack, scoring nine points in the half. But GW stormed back, taking its first lead (25-23) of the game with 2:30 to go before halftime. The Colonials held a 29-28 lead as the teams went to the lockerrooms. Saint Joseph's was able to breakaway in the second half, thanks in part to the absence of the defending A-10 Defensive Player of the Year Ugo Oha. The senior, who scored nine points in the first half, picked up her third and fourth fouls within a minute at the 13:50 mark. SJU began to creep away from the preseason favorite in the Atlantic 10 West Division and would go on to capture the victory. Brady scored a team-high 15 points and collected six boards, while Graff added 14, including a 6-for-7 performance from the charity line. Krasnoshiok came off the bench to score 13 points and Cornish finished with 11 as SJU placed four players in double-figures for the second time this season. Mohan, who struggled shooting, played a strong floor game posting team-highs in rebounds (eight) and assists (seven). The win was the first over GW since February 28, 1999 and snapped a five-game losing skid versus the Colonials. Montanana led GW with 20 points, while Oha finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Saint Joseph's will resume action with a weekend road trip to Ohio with contests against Xavier (Friday) and Dayton (Sunday).