Nov. 28, 2008

Box Score

NASHVILLE, TENN. - Despite having four Hawks score in double figures, the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team fell to Virginia Tech, 66-63, in the opening round of the Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tournament Friday at Memorial Gymnasium. Saint Joseph's (2-3), which faces Davidson in the consolation game at 3 p.m. Saturday, had a chance to tie the game in its final possession, but a three-point attempt was off the mark.

For the second straight game, Saint Joseph's found itself in a tight ball game, with no team leading by more than eight points, that coming in the final minutes. The Hawks faced a 63-55 with three minutes remaining, but rolled off five straight points. Junior guard Mariame Djouara nailed a jumper with 2:40 remaining, with junior Amy Gillespie's three-pointer with 1:00 left cut Hokies' lead to 63-60.

Virginia Tech (5-0) added a pair of free throws to up its lead to 65-60, but Gillespie again answered, scoring a driving layup and getting fouled on the play. The three-point conversion got the Hawks within 65-63 with :28 seconds left.

On the ensuing inbounds, Virginia Tech's Amber Hall errantly passed the ball out of bounds, giving SJU the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead. On the inbounds, the Hawks worked the ball to senior guard Jenna Loschiavo, but her tough three-point opportunity missed, and the Hawks fouled.

The Hokies' Lauren Haskins missed the back end of a one-and-one, giving the Hawks a life down three with :22 seconds left. Djouara, who was fouled away from the ball, missed the front end of a one-and-one, but the ball bounced out of bounds off the hands of two Hokies.

Saint Joseph's quickly found Loschiavo off the inbounds, but her clear look hit short off the rim, with Haskins grabbing the rebound to secure the win for Virginia Tech.

The Hawks started strong, jumping out to a 5-1 edge on a Loschiavo three pointer and jump shot by junior forward Brittany Ford. However the lead was short lived as Virginia Tech used an 11-4 run that opened up a 16-10 advantage with 11:11 left in the first half.

Saint Joseph's fought back and tied the game at 22 all on a jumper by freshman guard Michelle Baker at 6:15.

Virginia Tech regained the lead, and took a 36-32 edge into the half as Brittany Lewis drilled a three pointer for the Hokies with :23 seconds left.

In the second stanza, Ford came on strong, scoring 10 of her game-high 19 points, but the Hawks couldn't tie or take the lead.

For the game, SJU shot 25-of-64 (39.1 percent) from the floor, 7-of-18 (38.9 percent) from behind the arc and 6-of-9 from the foul line. The Hawks were out rebounded 38-37, but held a 13-11 advantage in offensive rebounds and out scored the Hokies 28-24 in the paint, and 14-8 off second-chance opportunities.

Virginia Tech, which got a team-high 17 points from Lindsay Biggs, shot 28-of-62 (45.2 percent) from the floor, 4-of-14 (28.6 percent) from three-point range and 6-of-9 from the foul line.

Ford added six rebounds and a steal, while Loschiavo added 12 points on 4-of-11 from three-point range. Djouara added 11 points and seven rebounds, while Gillespie added 11 points off the bench. Junior forward Ashley Logue added a game-high 13 rebounds to go with six points, while Baker added four points.