March 4, 2006

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - Putting together its best team effort of the season, the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team squeaked past Xavier 70-67 in the quarterfinal of the Atlantic 10 Championship Saturday afternoon at Alumni Memorial Feildhouse. The Hawks, who had four players score in double figures, advance to face the top-seeded George Washington Colonial a 2 p.m. Sunday. That game will be televised live on A-10 TV.

Trailing by 14, 48-34, early in the second half, Saint Joseph's went on a 27-6 run that spanned nearly 10 minutes as the Hawks took a 51-50 edge on a three pointer by senior Maura McBryan (Narberth, PA/Archbishop Carroll) at 10:28. Hawks' sophomore guard Timisha Gomez (Elkridge, MD/Long Reach) capped the run with a pair of free throws at 8:06 to give SJU a 61-54 lead.

The Musketeers fought back with an 11-3 run, as they regained the lead, 65-64, on a Suntana Granderson layup with 3:15 remaining.

Saint Joseph's regained the lead as it scored the next five points to take a 69-65 edge on a free throw by junior guard Whitney Ffrench (New Minas, Nova Scotia/Tabor Academy) with 19 seconds remaining.

Xavier followed with a layup by Tara Boothe with seven seconds remaining and fouled Hawks' senior forward Faith Schutte (Glenside, PA/Phil-Mont Christian Academy) with four seconds left.

Schutte extended Saint Joseph's lead to 70-67 as she made the second of two

On the ensuing inbounds, the Musketeers got the ball to Granderson, but her three pointer was off the mark as the Hawks grabbed the rebound as time expired.

"I was really proud of the way our defense stepped up today," said Saint Joseph's Head Coach Cindy Griffin. "I was a little concerned because our game plan wasn't to give Tara Boothe 36 points. But we made our defense become our offense and I think that was the key."

"We don't have All-Americans on our team, but we have always had team players," Schutte said. "Everyone, when they are called to step up, they do. Everyone was playing within themselves."

In the first half, Saint Joseph's jumped out to a nine-point lead, 20-11, behind a 14-3 run.

Trailing 23-17, the Musketeers responded with an 18-4 run from 9:04 to 2:14. Boothe and Granderson accounted for 12 of the 18 points, as Booth put Xavier up 35-27 on a layup.

The Musketeers took a 39-32 edge into the second half and quickly opened the lead to 14 as they scored nine of the first 11 points to start the second half. A Boothe three-pointer put Xavier up 48-34 before the Hawks made their comeback.

For the game, the Hawks finished 24-of-49 from the field (49.0 percent) and 6-of-15 from behind the arc (40.0 percent). At the other end, Xavier finished 26-of-50 from the floor (52.0 percent) and 3-of-11 from three-point range (27.3 percent). At the line, Saint Joseph's went 16-of-23 (69.6 percent), while the Musketeers shot 12-of-15 for 80 percent.

Individually Schutte poured in a career-high 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting and 5-of-7 from the line. Gomez added 13 points and seven assists, while McBryan and Ffrench added 12 points apiece.

For Xavier, Boothe led the way with an Atlantic 10 Championship record 36 points to go with 14 rebounds, while Granderson added 16 points.

With the victory, the Hawks improve to 20-9 overall, while Xavier falls to 20-8.