Feb. 16, 2008

Box Score

RICHMOND, VA - Four free throws and a huge stop in the final 8.4 seconds helped the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team hold on for a 69-64 win over Richmond Saturday evening at the Robins Center.

Following a Richmond layup with 17 seconds remaining, cutting the Hawks lead to 65-64, Saint Joseph's quickly inbounded the ball into senior guard Amy Wold, who found an wide open junior guard Jenna Loschiavo at the offensive end. Instead of scoring, Loschiavo made a heads-up play, passing the ball around, with senior guard Timisha Gomez eventually being fouled with 8.4 seconds remaining.

The Saint Joseph's (14-11, 6-4 Atlantic 10) senior calmly knocked the pair of free throws down, giving the Hawks a 67-64 edge.

On the ensuing play, Richmond's Brittani Shells attempted to pull up from three-point range, but the SJU tandem of Loschiavo and sophomore Amy Gillespie caused Shells to put the ball on the floor, with Gillespie eventually gaining control and getting the ball to Wold. Wold sealed the win with a pair of free throws with 0.8 seconds left.

In the first half, the Hawks controlled the tempo over the opening 10:51, leading 16-12 on a jumpshot by freshman Dominique Bryant

Saint Joseph's offense struggled following Bryant's basket, as the Spiders posted a 7-0 run , while the Hawks were held scoreless over the next six minutes.

Thankfully for the Hawks, Richmond had its struggles as well, allowing SJU to tie the game at 21 apiece on a three pointer by senior guard Timisha Gomez at the 3:27 mark.

Saint Joseph's would outscore the Spiders 6-5 from there, with Gomez adding a free throw with :07 seconds left in the half to give the Hawks the one-point, 27-26 edge.

The Hawks and Spiders battled back and forth over the opening 10 minutes of the second half, with SJU leading 42-36 at the 11:41 mark.

Richmond (12-13, 5-5 A-10) responded with a 9-0 run, taking a 45-42 lead on a Johanna McKnight layup at 9:41.

Saint Joseph's responded tying the game at 45, then using a 14-6 run over the next 4:26, as a Loschiavo three pointer put the Hawks up 59-51 with 5:15 left in the game.

In a hectic final minutes, Richmond got a deep three pointer from Shells and a layup by Crystal Goring, to cut the game to single-possessions. But the Hawks responded each time, going 4-of-6 into the waning moments.

For the game, Saint Joseph's shot 22-of-53 from the floor (41.5 percent), 6-of-16 from behind the arc (37.5 percent) and 19-of-25 from the line (76.0 percent). At the other end, Richmond went 26-of-58 from the floor (44.8 percent), 2-of-14 from three-point range (14.3 percent) and 10-of-15 from the foul line.

Individually, Gomez matched her career high, scoring 21 points on 6-of-13 shooting, including 3-of-4 from three-point range and adding six free throws. Acker posted her fifth straight double-double, scoring 18 points and adding a game-high 12 rebounds, while Wold was the only other Hawk in double digits, scoring 13 off the bench.

At the other end, Shells led the way for Richmond with 16 points.

The Hawks return to action Wednesday, February 20, when Saint Joseph's hosts Temple at 7 p.m.