Nov. 14, 2007

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team improved to 2-0 on the young season as the Hawks topped Drexel, 49-40, Wednesday night at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse. Junior guard Jenna Loschiavo paced Saint Joseph's with 16 points in a defensive-oriented contest.

After falling behind 5-0 to start the game, Saint Joseph's rattled off eight-straight points to take their first lead on a put-back by sophomore forward Ashley Logue.

Down 8-5, Drexel (0-2) responded with a pair of back-to-back layups to regain the lead 4:53 into the game. That lead lasted only 27 seconds as Hawks' senior Timisha Gomez drilled a jump-shot at 14:40 to spark a 10-point run and give Saint Joseph's a lead it would never relinquish.

The Hawks' defense caused 14-first half turnovers by Drexel and held the Dragons scoreless for nearly six minutes, from 9:06 to 3:13, as SJU built its lead to as many as 13, 26-13. Saint Joseph's headed into the half up 26-17.

In the second half, Saint Joseph's maintained control throughout. After allowing the Dragons to cut the deficit to eight, 32-24, with 11:23 to go, the Hawks responded with an 11-4 run to open up a 43-28 lead on a Loschiavo three-pointer at the 6:59 mark to all but seal the game.

For the game, the Hawks finished 17-of-45 from the field (37.8 percent), 9-of-15 from three-point range (60.0 percent), but just 6-of-14 from the foul line (42.9 percent). At the other end, Drexel was held to just 27.8 percent from the field (15-of-54), 3-of-14 behind the arc (21.4 percent) and 7-of10 from the stripe.

Individually, Loschiavo finished 5-of-9 from and a free throw, with all five baskets coming from three-point range. Gomez added nine points for SJU, while freshman Sarah Acker added six points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

At the other end, Gabriela Marginean poured in a game-high 18 points to go with 10 rebounds to pace Drexel.

Saint Joseph's returns to action this Sunday, November 18, when the Hawks host Virginia Commonwealth at 2p.m.

Other Notes
• Freshman Alexis Johnson scored her first collegiate points, adding four off the bench.

• Junior Mary Kate McDade led the Hawks in assists for the second straight game, adding five today.

• Acker has posted back-to-back double digit figures in rebounding.