Jan. 28, 2007

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - Despite a milestone achievement by Saint Joseph's senior guard Ayahna Cornish, the Hawks fell in overtime of their Big 5 finale to Temple, 78-71, Sunday evening at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse. Cornish, who finished with 15 points and five rebounds, became the 19th player in Saint Joseph's women's basketball history to pass the 1,000-point plateau with a three pointer in the second half.

In a close-fought second half, one in which the Hawks led 56-48 with 8:13 remaining, Temple pushed strong towards the end. Behind a 9-2 run, the Owls took its first lead, 63-62, on a Kamesha Hairston layup with 2:47 remaining.

The Hawks fought back, and held a 65-63 edge with 51 seconds remaining on a Cornish free throw.

On the ensuing possession, Hairston drilled a short jump shot to tie the game at 65 with 30.8 seconds remaining.

Saint Joseph's held for the final shot, but a running left hander by senior guard Whitney Ffrench was off the mark and the game went into overtime.

In the extra frame, the Owls scored the opening eight points, as Fatima Maddox's free throws put her team up 73-65 with 1:32 left.

The Hawks would cut the deficit to four on two occasions, but Temple held on for the win as it went 11-of-12 from the foul line in the extra frame.

The Hawks started out hot in the first half, making their first five shots to open up a 14-4 edge. Saint Joseph's senior guard Ayahna Cornish scored four points during the run, capping it with a layup at 17:06.

Despite trailing early, Temple remained calm and cut its deficit to two, 22-20 behind a 6-0 spurt from 10:46 to 7:35.

Saint Joseph's responded with five straight points, pushing its lead to 28-20 on a three pointer by junior guard Timisha Gomez at 6:53.

The two teams exchanged baskets over the remainder of the first half, with the Hawks taking a 38-32 edge into the locker room after shooting 14-of-20 from the floor for 70 percent.

For the game, Saint Joseph's finished 23-of-53 from the floor (43.4 percent), 7-of-14 from three-point range and 18-of-22 from the foul line (81.8 percent). At the other end, the Owls finished 28-of-66 from the floor (42.4 percent), 1-of-3 from behind the arc and 21-of-33 from the foul line (63.6 percent). The biggest difference in the game came on the boards as Temple outrebounded the Hawks 45-29, including 22 at the offensive end.

Individually, Ffrench led SJU's offense with 18 points, while Cornish finished with 15 points and three steals. Hawks' sophomore guard Jen Oyler (Oregon City, OR/Oregon City) was the only other player for SJU to score in double figures with 11 points and four blocks.

For Temple, Hairston finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds, while Lady Comfort added 23 points and nine boards

With the loss, the Hawks fall to 11-9 on the season, 3-3 in the Atlantic 10 and finish 3-1 in Big 5 play. Temple improves to 16-5 overall, 6-0 in conference play and 3-0 in the City Series.

Saint Joseph's returns to action Friday, February 2 when the Hawks host Massachusetts at 7 p.m.

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