Feb. 12, 2008

Box Score

CHARLOTTE, NC - The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team had its three-game win streak snapped Tuesday night as the Hawks fell to Charlotte, 59-57, at Halton Arena.

Down 56-55 with :56 seconds remaining, the Hawks (13-11, 5-4 Atlantic 10) came out of a timeout with possession. On the ensuing whistle, Saint Joseph's worked the ball around to senior guard Timisha Gomez. With the ball on the baseline, Gomez pulled up for a jumpshot, but her shot bounced off the rim and into the waiting hands of Charlotte's Shannon McCallum.

The 49ers (16-10, 6-3 A-10) ran the shot clock down on the ensuing possesion, settling for a deep jumper by Sabrina Gregory. The ball glanced off the back of the iron, with Charlotte's Danielle Burgin grabbing a long rebound and sending it back up top to a teammate.

After a pair of free throws by Erin Floyd with :17 seconds left, putting Charlotte up 58-55, Saint Joseph's tried to get a clean look from three-point range. But SJU settled for a layup by freshman center Sarah Acker (Nanticoke, PA/Greater Nanticoke) with :07 seconds left, cutting the deficit to 58-57.

McCallum, who was fouled on the inbounds, made the front end of a one-and-one, but missed the second, as SJU grabbed the rebound and pushed the ball up the court with 5.3 seconds left. Gomez got a couple steps over midcourt and released a shot. The ball clung to the back of the rim, but rolled off as the buzzer sounded.

In the first half, the game was back and forth over the first portion, with Saint Joseph's holding a 13-12 lead at the 10:37 mark. From there, Charlotte used a 13-7 run over the next 4:42, as a McCallum converted a three-point play.

The Hawks twice cut the deficit to four, but the 49ers fought back to open eight-point advantages, eventually settling for a 33-27 halftime lead.

Saint Joseph's came out of the lockerroom inspired, putting together an 11-4 spurt over the opening 3:33, taking a 38-37 lead on the first three-pointer of sophomore Ashley Logue's career.

Unfortunately for the Hawks, Charlotte answered right back with nine-straight points to take a 46-38 lead with 13:55 to go.

Trailing 48-43, Saint Joseph's outscored the 49ers 10-5, tying the game at 53 on a pair of Logue free throws with 6:24 left in the game.

Charlotte answered back with a three pointer to take a 56-53 lead, with the Hawks going scoreless over the next four minutes, finally getting a layup by sophomore Brittany Ford - cutting the score to 56-55 at 1:51 - after going scoreless in six previous possessions.

For the game, Saint Joseph's went 22-of-61 from the floor (36.1 percent), 7-of-21 from three-point range and 6-of-6 from the foul line, while Charlotte finished 22-of-57 from the field (38.6 percent), 2-of-9 behind the arc and 13-of-18 from the foul line (72.2 percent). The Hawks caused a game-high 17 Charlotte turnovers, but were outrebounded 41-36.

Individually, senior guard Amy Wold led the Hawks with 11 points, while junior guard Jenna Loschiavo added 10 points. Acker posted her fifth-straight double-double, tying her career-high with 16 rebounds, to go with 10 points and three rebounds.

The 49ers' Erin Floyd led all scorers with 20 points, while McCallum added 12 points and Burgin chipping in with 10.

The Hawks return to action Saturday, February 16, when Saint Joseph's travels to Richmond. Game time is set for 7 p.m.