Nov. 13, 2009

Box Score

Durham, N.H. - A cold-shooting Saint Joseph's women's basketball team fought back from an early 13-point deficit to take an eight-point lead midway through the second-half over host New Hampshire. But the Hawks couldn't hold on as the Wildcats came back for a 64-56 win Friday evening at Lundholm Gymnasium. Saint Joseph's, which travels to Providence for a 2 p.m. start on Sunday, got a team-high 14 points from freshman guard Shelby Smith, while seniors Amy Gillespie and Brittany Ford added 13 and 11 points, respectively.

A pair of Ford free throws gave the Hawks a 47-39 edge with 10:38 left in the game, but the Wildcats tallied seven-straight points in less than two minutes as Candace Williams' layup made it a one-point game with 8:47 to go.

Following a pair of free throws by SJU, Denise Beliveau converted a three-point play, tying the game at 49 all, while a Williams layup gave the home Wildcats a 51-49 edge at 7:37.

Gillespie answered with a three-pointer from the corner to give the Hawks the lead again, and Ford added a layup to put Saint Joseph's up 54-51 with 4:28 left in regulation.

From there, it was all New Hampshire, as the Wildcats outscored the Hawks 13-2 to end the contest. Saint Joseph's went just 1-of-8 from the floor in the final minutes, while New Hampshire went 8-of-9 from the line.

For the game, Saint Joseph's shot just 27.7 percent (18-of-65) from the floor and 24.1 percent (7-of-29) from behind the arc, while New Hampshire shot 44.7 percent (21-of-47).

The Hawks got off to a nice start as freshman guard Ashley Prim got a coast-to-coast layup to open the scoring, while senior guard Mariame Djouara followed with a basket off a turnover.

New Hampshire answered back though, opening up a 13-point lead, 25-12 just over midway through the stanza.

Saint Joseph's clawed back with defense, holding the Wildcats to just three points over the final seven minutes to make it a three-point game at the half, 30-27.

The momentum was in the Hawks favor to start the second half as they used a 16-6 run to take the lead. Smith hit four-straight three pointers for SJU as they opened a 43-36 advantage.

The lead would grow to eight for the Hawks before the Wildcats came back in the final minutes.

Djouara added eight points, while classmate Ashley Logue added four points and a block. Sophomore guard Katie Kuester scored three points, with Prim and sophomore guard Michelle Baker rounding out the Hawks' scoring with two and one points, respectively.

Beliveau finished with a game-high 21 points and was one of three Wildcats in double figures.