Jan. 24, 2005

Box Score

AMHERST, MA - Trailing by one with nine seconds remaining, Saint Joseph's women's basketball team had one last shot to win the game. Sophomore guard Whitney Ffrench drove the length of the floor and put up a five-foot floater.

Unfortunately for the Hawks, the ball bounced off the back iron and into the waiting hands of a Massachusetts player as the Minutewomen downed the Hawks 62-61 Monday afternoon at the Mullins Arena.

After trailing Saint Joseph's for the opening 10 minutes of the second half, Massachusetts slowly chipped away at the Hawks' lead, gaining a 55-53 lead on Pam Rosanio three-pointer at 5:53.

Both teams would exchange baskets over the next three minutes as the Hawks fought back to tie the score three times.

The Minutewomen grabbed a three-point lead, 62-59 on a Katie Nelson free throw with 21 seconds remaining.

Nelson missed the second free throw, and Saint Joseph's took advantage. Red-shirt freshman Erica Pollock made a layup with 10 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 62-61.

The Hawks quickly fouled Nelson, sending her to the line for a one-and-one. Fortunately for Saint Joseph's, Nelson missed the front end and the Hawks gained control allowing for Ffrench's last-second shot.

In the first half, both teams gave up back and forth scores as the lead changed hands nine times.

After a three-pointer by Nelson to open the scoring, Saint Joseph's responded with back-to-back baskets by sophomore guard Ayahna Cornish to take a 4-3 lead.

Following a short Minutewomen run in which they took a 10-6 lead, the Hawks responded with an 8-0 run to take a 14-10 lead. Pollock sparked the run with four of Saint Joseph's eight points.

Massachusetts would regain the lead once again, using a 5-0 run to grab a 15-14 lead at 10:17.

The lead continued to swing over the final 10 minutes before the Hawks used a 6-2 run to take a 34-29 lead into the locker room.

For the game, Saint Joseph's shot 41.8 percent from the field (23-55), while the Minutewomen went 21-53 for 39.6 percent.

Freshman guard Timisha Gomez led the Hawks with a career-high 14 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and five assists. Pollock was the only other Saint Joseph's player to score in double figures, adding 14.

Rosanio paced the Minutewomen with 24 points, while Brooke Campbell added 12

With the loss, Saint Joseph's falls to 4-15 on the season and 2-5 in Atlantic 10 play. The Minutewomen improve to 11-7 overall and 4-3 in the A-10.

Saint Joseph's returns to action Sunday at Richmond. Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m.