Nov. 12, 2006

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - Getting solid performances from seniors Whitney Ffrench, Ayahna Cornish, Zoya Pavlovskaya and "Mother Nature", the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team earned a 63-56 victory over Bucknell in Sunday's season opener at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse.

Even though the three Hawk seniors accounted for 42 of the team's points, Saint Joseph's biggest contribution might have come from off the court. Trailing 46-45 with 7:04 remaining in the game, power went out in the arena and surrounding neighborhoods, causing a 14-minutes stoppage until power could be restored.

Once power returned, the Hawks' offense took over and outscored Bucknell 18-10 over the final minutes to earn its fourth-straight season-opening win. Saint Joseph's used a 6-0 run, from 3:58 to 1:03, to open a 59-52 lead that all but sealed the victory for the Hawks. Ffrench added four of those points, while Pavlovskaya grabbed a key offensive rebound and caused a steal on defense.

The game was back-and-forth in the first half, as Bucknell took an early 12-6 advantage to start the game. The Bison' Lindsey Hollobaugh scored five of the first 12 points.

Saint Joseph's fought back with a 13-2 run over the next seven minutes, taking a 22-16 lead on a three pointer by sophomore guard Jenna Loschiavo (Plymouth Meeting, PA/Plymouth Whitemarsh). Cornish and Loschiavo accounted for 11 of the Hawks' 13 points.

Bucknell would go on to outscore the Hawks 12-5 over the final six minutes of the half to take a 28-27 edge into the locker room.

In the second stanza, Saint Joseph's opened its biggest lead of the game, nine points. Trailing 32-29 at 18:46, the Hawks scored 12 straight points to open up a 41-32 lead as Ffrench capped the run with a jump shot at 15:12.

The Bison would rally over the next eight minutes, to regain the lead right before the power outage. Bucknell outscored the Hawks 14-4, and took a 46-45 edge on a Hope Foster jump shot at 7:08.

As a team, Saint Joseph's finished 21-of-60 from the field (35.0 percent), 18-of-23 (78.3 percent) from the foul line and outrebounded the Bison 42-31. At the other end, Bucknell finished 25-of-55 (45.5 percent) from the floor and just 4-of-6 from the foul line. With the win, the Hawks move to 1-0 on the year, while Bucknell falls to 1-1.

Individually, Ffrench led all scorers with a game-high 21 points to go with four assists and two steals. Pavlovskaya, starting only her second career-game, posted a game and career-best 13 rebounds to go with eight points and two steals, while Cornish added 13 points and six rebounds.

For Bucknell, center Hope Foster led the way with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Hollobaugh added 15.

Saint Joseph's returns to action Friday, November 17, when it hosts Hartford at 7 p.m.