Feb. 18, 2009

Box Score

BRONX, N.Y. - Taking advantage of 22 Fordham turnovers, the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team earned a 68-52 win Wednesday at Rose Hill Gym. Saint Joseph's got a balanced offensive attack as nine of 10 Hawks scored to help SJU improve to 12-14 on the year and 4-7 in Atlantic 10 play.

In the opening half, the Hawks took advantage of 13 Fordham turnovers as they trailed 4-3 to start, but never trailed again. Behind a 13-2 run from 16:31 to 11:03, Saint Joseph's opened a 10-point advantage, 16-6, over the Rams. Junior forward Brittany Ford tallied seven points for SJU during that stretch as classmate Mariame Djouara capped the run with a give-and-go layup from senior Mary Kate McDade.

Fordham didn't give in though, cutting the Hawks' lead to six three times, with the score 24-18 with 2:49 to go in the half. Saint Joseph's pulled away though to end the half, using a 9-2 spurt over the remaining time, with junior forward Ashley Logue knocking down a baseline jumper with 4.4 seconds left to give the Hawks a 33-20 lead entering halftime.

Saint Joseph's continued to extend its lead in the second half. Fordham cut the deficit to 11 early, but it was as close as the Rams would get. The Hawks would open up as big as a 21-point lead as they outscored Fordham 35-32 in the stanza.

For the game, Saint Joseph's shot 48.1 percent from the field (26-of-54), 4-of-11 from three-point range (36.4 percent) and 12-of-16 from the foul line. At the other end, Fordham shot 41.2 percent (21-of-51), 3-of-6 from behind the arc and 7-of-9 from the foul line.

Individually, Logue paced SJU with 16 points and nine rebounds, while freshman Michelle Baker scored 12 points. Ford finished with 10 points, with senior Jenna Loschiavo and Djouara adding nine points and eight points, respectively. McDade led the Hawks with six assists and three steals to go with two points, with junior guard Amy Gillespie and forward Kelly Cavallo each added five points. Sophomore forward Dominique Bryant rounded out the scoring with two points for SJU, while freshman guard Katie Kuester added a rebound and a steal.

At the other end, Tiffany Stokes paced Fordham with 14 points.

Saint Joseph's returns to action Saturday versus Charlotte. Game time is set for 3 p.m. at the Gallagher Center.