Jan. 19, 2008

Box Score

CINCINNATI - The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team dropped its first Atlantic 10 contest of the season, falling 71-53, to Xavier at the Cintas Center Saturday evening.

Saint Joseph's (10-8, 2-1 A-10) trailed just 10-9 at the 11:35 mark of the opening half, but the Musketeers took control from there. Xavier went on a 14-0 run over the next 8:24, extending its lead to 24-9 with 3:11 left in the half.

The Hawks responded with five quick points from sophomore guard Amy Gillespie, but Xavier answered back with a10-0 run to end the half and take a 34-14 edge into halftime. Saint Joseph's, which lost freshman center Sarah Acker early due to foul trouble, shot just 6-of-24 from the field (25 percent).

In the second half, the Hawks chipped away at Xavier's lead, cutting the deficit to 44-32. Senior Amy Wold capped the 8-2 run for SJU with a three pointer at 11:27.

The Musketeers (12-6, 2-1 A-10) built their lead back to 19, 52-33, but Saint Joseph's answered back with a 13-4 run over nearly four minutes to cut the deficit to 56-46 on a pair of Acker free throws with 3:51 remaining.

Unfortunately for the Hawks, that was as close as they got.

For the game, the Hawks shot 34.6 percent (18-of-52) from the field, while Xavier shot 45.5 percent (25-of-55) and outscored SJU 44-12 in the paint.

Individually, junior guard Jenna Loschiavo led Saint Joseph's with 12 points, while Acker and senior guard Timisha Gomez added 11 apiece.

At the other end, Amber Harris scored 19 points and Ta'Shia Phillips added 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Musketeers.

Saint Joseph's returns to action next Saturday, January 26, when the Hawks host Dayton at 2 p.m.