Feb. 25, 2009

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - Shooting 48.3 percent from the floor (28-of-58) and dishing out 21 assists, the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team capped the home portion of its schedule with a 77-63 win over Massachusetts Wednesday evening at The Palestra. The Hawks improved to 12-15 overall with the victory and 5-7 in Atlantic 10 play with the regular season finale this Sunday at Dayton.

It was a quick start to the game, as both teams hit double figures in under five minutes. Sakea Young tallied seven of the Minutewomen's points as Massachusetts held a 26-22 lead with 7:24 to go in the opening stanza.

From there though the Hawks turned it up on both ends of the court. Defensively, Saint Joseph's held the Minutewomen to just 3-of-9 from the field and caused seven turnovers, while at the other end, the Hawks' offense hit on all cylinders, scoring on 7-of-13 shots from the field to fuel a 17-6 run to end the half. Sophomore forward Dominique Bryant tallied six points during that stretch for SJU, while Loschiavo and junior guard Mariame Djouara combined for nine points.

Saint Joseph's shot 46.9 percent from the floor (15-of-32) in the first half and took advantage of 11 Massachusetts turnovers to take a 39-32 lead into the second half.

Up 56-42 nearly halfway through the final half, the Hawks allowed Massachusetts to claw back into the game, as the Minutewomen made it a 10-point game, 56-46, with 9:34 to go. Saint Joseph's answered quickly as senior guard Jenna Loschiavo and junior guard Amy Gillespie hit back-to-back three pointers to up SJU's lead to 62-46 with 8:27 left in the game.

Massachusetts (11-17, 4-9 A-10) used an 11-2 run from 6:18 to 2:29 to make it a nine-point game, 68-59 as the Minutwomen chopped down the Hawks' biggest lead of the game, 18.

The Hawks would hang on to the lead, going 8-of-8 from the foul line to hold on for the victory.

Individually, junior forward Brittany Ford led the Hawks with 16 points to go with four blocks and seven rebounds, while Loschiavo and junior Ashley Logue each added 14 points apiece, with Loschiavo handing out a career-best seven assists. Fellow senior Mary Kate McDade donned the white SJU jersey for the last time, scoring four points to go with six assists in the Hawks' win.

At the other end, Young tallied a game-high 23 points for Massachusetts as the Minutewomen finished 23-of-51 from the field (45.1 percent). Massachusetts was held to 36 percent in the second half (9-of-25).

The Hawks cap the regular season this Sunday at Dayton. Game time is set for 2 p.m.