Feb. 4, 2009

Box Score

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Trailing by six with under three minutes to play, the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team rallied to make it a one-point game. However, the Hawks couldn't capitalize in their final two possessions, turning the ball over twice as Duquesne held on for a 53-51 win at the A.J. Palumbo Center Wednesday evening.

Down 51-45, Saint Joseph's put together a 6-1 run over a 1:11 span to cut the Dukes' lead to 52-51 with 1:01 remaining on a layup by junior forward Brittany Ford (Wilmington, Del./Concord).

The Hawks' defense stepped up, causing a Duquesne turnover with :38 seconds remaining. But SJU couldn't take advantage as Ford got called for a turnover.

Saint Joseph's (10-12, 2-5 Atlantic 10) fouled on the inbounds, and Duquesne's Keri Pryor made the second of a double bonus to up the Dukes lead to 53-51 with :08 seconds left.

The Hawks quickly got the ball down the court, as senior Mary Kate McDade (Philadelphia, Pa./Nazareth Academy) drove down the right lane. McDade drew two defenders, freeing Ford up on the left post. However the pass was deflected out of her reach as the buzzer sounded.

In the first half, both offenses sputtered, with Duquesne (13-9, 3-4 A-10) leading 9-8 at the 12:58 mark. Saint Joseph's offense began to click from there though, scoring 10 straight points to open up a 19-8 edge on a jumper by freshman guard Michelle Baker (Wilmington, Del./Brandywine) with 5:56 left in the stanza.

From there though, the Dukes rattled off a 16-6 run over the next 3:52, taking a 25-22 edge on a jump shot by Keri Pryor at 2:04. Duquesne's Kristi Little led the charge for her team, scoring nine of her team's points during that stretch.

Despite seeing their lead disappear, the Hawks quickly answered back as Ford and junior forward Ashley Logue (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Hubert's) combined to score six straight points as SJU regained the lead, 28-25, on Logue's jumper with :51 seconds left in the half.

Saint Joseph's opened up a 45-38 lead with 10:54 to go in the game, but its offense went cold over the next eight minutes. The Dukes strung together a 13-0 run over 6:26, as Samantha Polino gave her team its biggest lead of the night, 51-45.

Individually, Ford posted her second straight double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds as SJU as a team shot 18-of-58 from the field (31.0 percent), but just 24.1 percent in the second half (7-of-29).

At the other end, Little added 15 points for the Dukes, while Pryor added 14 points as Duquesne finished 19-of-60 from the floor (61.7 percent).

Saint Joseph's returns to action this Sunday vs. St. Bonaventure at 1 p.m. at the Gallagher Center. Game time is set for 7 p.m.