Jan. 12, 2010

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - Backed by a balanced scoring attack, the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team capped its non-conference schedule with a 57-40 victory over Penn in a Philadelphia Big 5 matchup Tuesday afternoon at the Michael J. Hagan '85 Arena. The Hawks had nine of their 11 players score as they improved to 8-8 on the season and 1-1 in Big 5 contests.

Playing in front of 978 fans on "Field Trip 2010: Fly With the Hawks" day, Saint Joseph's began to pull away from the Quakers midway through the opening half as a 10-2 run upped the Hawks lead from 15-11 to 25-13. Senior forward Brittany Ford added four points during the run, while sophomore guard Michelle Baker capped the spurt with a jump shot at 6:54.

The Hawks took a 32-19 lead into the second half and quickly scored the opening six points to take a 38-19 advantage on a layup by freshman guard Ashley Prim.

Both teams struggled to score in the second half, but Saint Joseph's kept Penn at a distance. Shooting just 21.4 percent from the floor in the second stanza (6-of-28), the Hawks still managed to outscore the Quakers, 25-21, and never allowed Penn any closer than 13 points.

For the game, SJU shot 36.8 percent from the field (21-of-57) after going 15-of-29 in the first half for 51.7 percent. The Hawks also knocked down 13-of-15 free throw attempts (86.7 percent), including 12-of-12 in the second stanza.

Individually, junior forward Dominique Bryant paced the Hawks with 11 points, while Baker added eight points and a team-high seven rebounds off the bench. Prim finished with eight points, two steals and two assists, with freshman forward Mireia Vila chipping in a season-best seven points. The win also marked the 149th victory for head coach Cindy Griffin at Saint Joseph's

At the other end, Penn (1-13, 0-3 Big 5) was led by 11 points from Caitlin Slover as the Quakers shot just 24.5 percent from the field (13-of-53).

Saint Joseph's returns to Atlantic 10 action Saturday at Temple. Game time is set for 4:30 p.m.