PHILADELPHIA (02/15/02) - Senior Susan Moran scored a game-high 31 points and the Saint Joseph's University women's basketball team (18-6, 9-4 A-10) shot 65% from the field en route to a 77-67 victory over Rhode Island (14-10, 7-6 A-10) at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse. The Hawks' victory, coupled with Temple's overtime loss to Massachusetts, moved SJU back into a first place tie with the Owls atop the A-10's East Division. A bizarre game, the Hawks attempted just 38 fieldgoals in the contest and turned the ball over 27 times. The team countered this by shooting 65.8% (25-38) from the floor and limiting the Rams to just 39.4% shooting (26-66). SJU also decisively won the battle on the boards (36-25). The Crimson and Gray slowly built up a double-digit lead in the first half and led at intermission by nine points, 34-25. URI, however, managed to outscore SJU 12-4 in the opening six minutes of the second half to briefly take a one-point lead with 14:09 remaining the game. The Hawks weathered the storm and quickly reestablished a ten point lead. Moran was the catalyst of a 15-5 spurt that put SJU up 43-53, scoring eight points. Sophomore Amra Mehmedic put an exclamation mark on the run when she canned a three-pointer from the right corner at the 10:04 mark. Down the stretch, the Rams chipped away at the Hawks, but SJU seemed to always have an answer. URI closed within four points with 2:22 to play, but could get no closer. The nation's top free throw shooting team for the second straight year, Cindy Anderson-Griffin's charges iced the game by converting 11-12 charity shots in the final two minutes. Moran looked like her old self in the contest after struggling with her shot the past few weeks. Now with the pressure of the SJU career scoring record behind her, she finished with 31 points,including 22 in the second half. Her fourth 30+ point outburst of the year, she shot 8-10 from the floor and 15-18 from the line. The win, which was the second straight for the Hawks, improved the team's record to 15-2 when the quintet of Moran, Mehmedic, seniors Jane Meade and Amy Snell and sophomore Stephanie Graff start. Snell and Meade finished in double figures in the same game for the first time this season. Snell finished with 12 points, one shy of her career-high, seven rebounds and four assists. Meade added 11 points and five steals. Mehmedic tallied nine points and Graff had four points and eight rebounds. Rhode Island was paced in the contest by 24 points from Dragana Banjac and 21 from Cheltenham's Shayla Johnson. SJU continues a three game homestand on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 PM when Massachusetts pays a visit to the Fieldhouse. The Hawks close out the home portion of the regular season schedule next Friday by hosting La Salle at 7:00 PM.