Jan. 3, 2008

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - Despite a raucous crowd of 1,265 elementary students and fans packing Hawk Hill for "Field Trip to the Fieldhouse", the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team fell to Gonzaga, 67-43, Thursday afternoon. Shooting just 27.3 percent from the field on the day, the Hawks struggled from the early going as the Zags never trailed by single digits after the opening six minutes.

Leading 7-4 3:40 into the contest, Gonzaga (9-6) mounted an 18-3 run over the next 7:47 as Heather Bowman capped the run with two of her 14 points at the 8:10 mark. While the Bulldogs' offense clicked for 7-of-14 from the floor during that stretch, Saint Joseph's went just 1-of-13 as junior guard Jenna Loschiavo scored three of her team-high 12 points.

Facing its biggest deficit of the first half, 28-10, the Hawks rallied behind a 9-2 run over the next two minutes, cutting Gonzaga's lead to 30-19 on a three pointer by senior guard Amy Wold at 4:35.

Unfortunately for Saint Joseph's (7-7), the Bulldogs rattled off a 9-2 run to end the half and take a 39-21 advantage into halftime. The Hawks finished the half 8-of-30 (26.7 percent), while Gonzaga went 14-of-27 (51.9 percent).

In the second half, the Hawks' offense failed to truly click as SJU finished just 7-of-25 from the field (28.0 percent) and would come no closer than its 18-point deficit to start stanza.

For the game, Saint Joseph's was held to just 15-of-55 from the field (27.3 percent), while Gonzaga went 25-of-53 (47.2 percent) and won the rebounding battle 41-30.

Individually, Loschiavo's 12 points paced the Hawks, while Wold added nine points and five assists.

At the other end, Bowman and Tiffanie Shives each scored 14 points apiece.

Saint Joseph's caps the non-conference portion of its schedule Saturday as the Hawks travel to Akron for a 2 p.m. tip versus the Zips.