Jan. 3, 2006

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Behind a 34-point second half, the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team downed Duquesne 55-47 in the Atlantic 10 opener at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Tuesday evening.

Trailing 23-21 at the half, the Hawks quickly scored, and following an exchange of baskets, found themselves tied with the Dukes at 29 apiece at 14:43.

Over the next 1:25 seconds, Saint Joseph's went on a 5-0 run to open a 34-29 advantage. Hawks' senior forward Faith Schutte (Glenside, PA/Phil-Mont Christian Academy) capped the run with a free throw at 13:18 as the Hawks would never trail from there.

Duquesne would cut the deficit to two, 36-34, but Saint Joseph's responded with an 8-0 run to take a 44-34 lead. Freshman guard Jenna Loschiavo put the Hawks up 10 as she took a back-door pass from classmate Hillary Klimowicz and made an open layup at 8:20.

Duquesne would get no closer than 49-44, as the Hawks went eight-of-eight from the foul line in the waning moments.

"It's a great way to start Atlantic 10 play," said Saint Joseph's head coach Cindy Griffin. "It was ugly early as both teams tried to feel each other out, but I was very pleased with the way we responded and stepped up in the second half."

In the first half, the Dukes 12-7 edge quickly evaporated as the Hawks went on an 8-2 run to take a 15-14 lead on a jumpshot by junior guard Whitney Ffrench at 7:55.

Over the final eight minutes, Duquesne outscored the Hawks 9-6 to take a 23-21 advantage into the half.

For the game, Saint Joseph's finished 20-of-55 from the floor (36.4 percent) and 2-of-11 from behind the arc (18.2 percent). Duquesne finished 18-of-51 from the field (35.3 percent) and 6-of-16 from behind the arc (37.5 percent). The big difference came at the foul line where the Hawks went 13-of-17 (76.5 percent), while the dukes finished 5-of-9 (55.6 percent)

Individually, Saint Joseph's junior guard Ayahna Cornish led all scorers with 18 points and added seven rebounds, while Ffrench added 12 points and four assist.

At the other end, Aiga Bautre paced the Dukes with 16 points and four assists, while Loui Hall added 11 points and three steals.

With the victory, the Hawks improve to 9-3 on the season and 1-0 in the Atlantic 10. Duquesne falls to 5-7 overall with the loss and 0-1 in A-10 play. The victory also moves Saint Joseph's to 18-0 all-time at home versus the Duquesne and 32-4 all-time.

Saint Joseph's opens the road portion of its schedule this Friday when the Hawks travel to St. Bonaventure for a 7 p.m. start.