Nov. 25, 2008

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - Backed by a career-high 24 points from junior forward Brittany Ford, the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team topped Penn, 66-60, Tuesday evening in the Hawks' Philadelphia Big 5 opener at The Palestra.

Saint Joseph's never trailed at any point, but the Quakers were far from a pushover as Penn never trailed by more than five points over a majority of the final 15 minutes.

The Hawks, who were tied 31-31 at the half, came out of the half on fire, jumping out to a 39-31 advantage. Ford would score six of her 18 second-half points during that stretch, including a layup at 17:08 to put her team up eight.

Penn answered back with an 8-2 run of its own over the next 2:28 as Kelly Scott's three pointer at 14:40 brought the Quakers within 41-39.

Saint Joseph's would up its lead to five three times over the next 10 minutes, but the Quakers refused to wilt, coming within one point five times.

Leading 59-58 with less than four minutes remaining, Ford again came up big for SJU, with a short jumper in the lane to put the Hawks up 61-58 with 3:52 remaining. At the other end, Ford twice stole the ball from Penn, allowing the Hawks to kill time, but not extend their lead.

Penn had a clear shot to tie the game on a three pointer by Carrie Biemer with 1:02 left, but the ball failed to go down and the Quakers turned it over following an offensive rebound.

The Hawks' senior guard Mary Kate McDade extended the lead to 63-58 with a pair of free throws with :44 seconds remaining, with the SJU holding Penn scoreless on two straight possessions and adding three more free throws to ice the game.

In the opening half, Saint Joseph's rushed out to a 9-0 lead to start the game, but Penn quickly cut the Hawks' lead to 9-8 on an 8-0 run of its own.

Saint Joseph's would up its first-half lead to seven twice, but each time the Quakers answered, including an 11-4 run to end the half tied at 31.

For the game, the Hawks shot 41.4 percent from the floor (24-of-58), 5-of-15 from three-point range and 13-of-15 from the foul line (86.7 percent). At the other end, Penn went 23-of-55 from the field (41.8 percent), 6-of-14 from behind the arc (42.9 percent) and 8-of-10 from the foul line. Saint Joseph's and Penn tied with 33 rebounds apiece, with the Hawks committing a season-low eight turnovers, to go with 14 assists and eight steals.

Individually, Ford added four rebounds, five steals, an assist and a block to go with her 10-of-20 shooting performance and 4-of-4 night from the foul line. Senior Jenna Loschiavo added 14 points and six rebounds, while freshman guard Michelle Baker added 10 points and two rebounds off the bench and McDade added a game-high nine assists and seven points.

Scott led the Quakers' offense that placed three players in double figures, scoring 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including five three pointers.

Saint Joseph's returns to action Friday versus Virginia Tech in the opening round of the Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tournament. Game time is set for 5 p.m.