Jan. 8, 2011

Box Score

ST. LOUIS - Shooting 50 percent from the field (24-of-48) and getting a combined 32 points from juniors Katie Kuester and Michelle Baker, the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team topped Saint Louis, 66-54, in the Hawks' Atlantic 10 opener Saturday evening at Chaifetz Arena.

Leading by as many as 15, Saint Joseph's saw its advantage cut to seven, midway through the second half as the Billikens' Ayriell Robinson made it a 43-36 game on a three-point play with 10:13 to go.

The Hawks answered with a 6-1 run spearheaded by Baker, going up 49-37 with 8:21 remaining. Up by 12, Saint Joseph's defense would never allow Saint Louis to come closer than seven points as it held the Billikens to just 29.4 percent (10-of-34) to improve to 11-4 overall and 1-0 in the Atlantic 10.

In the first half, Saint Louis and the Hawks answered each others baskets with the game knotted at 16 all with nine minute to go. From there though, Saint Joseph's used an 18-6 run to end the half, and take a 34-22 edge into the second stanza. Junior guard Katie Kuester tallied 13 of her 18 points in the first half as the Hawks shot 51.7 percent from the floor (14-of-27).

Overall, Kuester added a career-high eight rebounds, two assists a steal and a block, while Baker scored 14 points and added four rebounds. Junior forward Kelly Cavallo finished with eight points and a pair of blocks, with sophomore guard Ashley Prim adding a game-high six assists to go with eight points.

At the other end, Robinson and Lauren Woods combined for 39 points for Saint Louis, with only four Billikens scoring for the game. Saint Louis (6-10, 0-1 A-10) was held to 33.9 percent from the floor (20-of-59), 16.7 percent from behind the arc(1-of-6) and shot 59.1 percent from the foul line (13-of-22).

Saint Joseph's returns to action Wednesday when the Hawks open the home portion of their Atlantic 10 schedule against nationally-ranked Xavier. The game is set for a noon start as part of Saint Joseph's annual "Kid's Day Game."