Jan. 7, 2005

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - After clawing back from a 16-point second half deficit, the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer.

Unfortunately for the Hawks, the put-back by junior Faith Schutte off a baseline jump shot by sophomore Whitney Ffrench came after the buzzer as St. Bonaventure held off Saint Joseph's, 74-72.

In a frenzied final three minutes, a three-pointer by junior guard Christine Roth at 2:46 capped a Hawks 7-1 run to bring Saint Joseph's within one, 68-67.

Leading 70-69 with just over a minute remaining, St. Bonaventure attempted to use the clock to its advantage, drawing the shot clock to its final ticks. The Hawks swarmed St. Bonaventure junior Stefanie Collins, but Collins was able to get an open look and drain a three pointer with two Saint Joseph's players in her face to give St. Bonaventure a 73-69 lead.

With her team trailing by four, sophomore guard Ayahna Cornish quickly answered for the Hawks with three of her team-high 22 points, cutting the deficit to one, 73-72, with 31 second remaining.

On the inbounds, Cornish and Ffrench tied up Collins on the far side, forcing the ball off Collins' knee and giving the possession to the Hawks.

Saint Joseph's inbounded the pass and got the ball to Cornish at the top of the key with 15 seconds remaining. Unfortunately for the Hawks, Cornish was called for traveling as she attempted to make a pass while driving to the lane.

After being fouled, Collins made the first, but missed the second free throw. The Hawks would gather the rebound, but their last-chance effort that came up a second late.

In the first half, St. Bonaventure came out firing as the Bonnies took an early 9-4 lead before extending it to as many as 15, 45-30.

Collins and senior forward Tory Vyborny combined for 36 of the Bonnies 47 first half points as St. Bonaventure took a 47-35 lead into the lockerrooms. The Bonnies finished 18-of-27 from the field for 66.7 percent in the first half, while the Hawks went 15-of-35 for 42.9 percent.

Despite trailing for most of the first half, Saint Joseph's refused to quit. The Hawks used a 12-2 run midway through the second half to cutting the Bonnies lead from 15 to five. Roth capped the run with a three pointer at 9:34.

Both teams would exchange baskets over the next six minutes leading up to the furious finish. Offensively, the Hawks shot 40.3 percent from the field on 25-of-62 shooting and 9-of 21 from behind the arc for 42.9 percent. At the other end, the Bonnies finished 25-of-49 from the field for 51 percent, while going 9-of-16 from three-point range (.563).

For the second straight game, Cornish led the Hawks in scoring; pouring in 13 of her 22 points in the second half. Pollock added 15 points, while junior Maura McBryan added 11 before fouling out. Schutte added a team-high seven rebounds to go with eight points and three assists.

Collins led all scorers with 31 points, including 8-of-14 from three-point range. Vyborny added a career-best 22 points to go with seven rebounds.

With the loss, Saint Joseph's falls to 3-11 on the season and 1-0 in Atlantic 11 play. The Bonnies improve to 6-7 overall and 1-1 in the A-10.

Saint Joseph's returns to action Sunday, January 9 when it hosts Dayton at 1 p.m.