Jan. 12, 2007

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - Led by senior guard Ayahna Cornish's game-high 24 points, the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team beat La Salle, 71-60, in front of a 1,200 fans at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Friday afternoon. The victory also marked the 100th win for head coach Cindy Griffin at Hawk Hill.

Hosting its annual "Fieldtrip to the Fieldhouse" for local school children, the Hawks jumped out to an early 8-4 advantage as Cornish accounted for all eight SJU points.

The teams would stay close for much of the first half, as the Explorers grabbed their first lead, 19-18, on a layup by Crista Ricketts at the 7:59 mark.

Saint Joseph's gathered itself and posted a 12-4 run over the next 4:27, taking a 30-23 lead on a Cornish jump shot. The Hawks would give up four points over the remaining time, but held a 30-27 advantage going into the locker room.

The score remained close in the opening minutes of the second half, with SJU holding a 32-31 edge. The Hawks scored seven straight points, with sophomore guard Jen Oyler putting her team up 39-31 on a three pointer with 16:19 remaining.

Trailing 41-32, La Salle rattled off six straight points, cutting their deficit to 41-38 on a Rickets layup with 12:51 left to play.

Leading 46-42, Saint Joseph's began to pull away. Behind an 11-3 run, the Hawks opened up their biggest lead, 57-45, on an Oyler three pointer with 8:16 remaining.

The Explorers would cut the lead back to 62-53, but Saint Joseph's would let their lead slip no further as Hawks added two more three pointers and went 3-of-4 from the foul line.

For the game, Saint Joseph's went 24-of-59 from the field (40.7 percent), 11-of-24 from three-point range (45.8 percent) and 12-of-15 (80.0 percent) from the foul line. At the other end, the Explorers finished 22-of-58 from the field (37.9percent), 4-of-7 (57.1 percent) from behind the arc and 12-of-16 (75.0 percent) from the foul line.

Individually, Cornish paced all players with 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting, including 3-of-7 from behind the arc and 1-of-2 from the foul line. Oyler added 18 points, including five baskets from three-point range, to go along with eight rebounds and two blocks. Senior Whitney Ffrench dished out a game-high four assists and added 10 points, while sophomore guard Jenna Loschiavo added nine points and two assists.

At the other end, Rickets and junior Carlene Hightower added 20 points apiece, with Rickets and teammate Melanie Gibbons each grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds.

With the win, the Hawks improve to 8-7 on the season, 1-1 in the Atlantic 10 and 2-0 in the Big 5. The loss drops La Salle to 13-4 on the year, 1-1 in the Atlantic 10 and 2-1 in the Big 5

Saint Joseph's returns to action Sunday, January 14 when the Hawks host Richmond at 2 p.m.

*** Photos from today's game are available at www.sidephotos.com