Nov. 13, 2011

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - Backed by a balanced attack, the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team topped Lehigh, 66-48, Sunday afternoon in the Hawks' home opener at Hagan Arena. Senior guard Katie Kuester tallied a team-best 14 points as Saint Joseph's had nine of 10 players score on the afternoon.

Up 9-7, the Hawks started pulling away. Sparked by a jumper by sophomore guard Erin Shields, Saint Joseph's scored 13 of the next 15 points to open up a 22-9 lead. Six different Hawks scored during the streak with sophomore guard Kasie Parker capping it with a three-pointer at 8:41.

The Hawks (1-1) would extend their lead to as many as 19 before taking a 36-19 advantage into halftime. Saint Joseph's limited Lehigh to just 4-of-24 from the floor (16.7 percent), while connecting on 15-of-36 (41.7 percent) at the other end.

In the second half, Lehigh (0-2) cut the deficit to 10, 42-32, just under five minutes into the stanza as Alexa Williams scored two of her team-high 14 points on a jumper at 15:07.

Saint Joseph's never faltered though, keeping the Mountain Hawks at a 10-point distance over the remainder of the game, while holding Lehigh to just 29.2 percent from the floor (14-of-48) and caused 18 turnovers for the game.

At the other end, the Hawks finished 28-of-67 from the floor (41.8 percent), 6-of-14 from three-point range (42.9 percent) and hit 4-of-7 from the foul line (57.1 percent). Kuester added three assists and two rebounds, while classmate Michelle Baker added 13 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Redshirt sophomore Ashley Robinson grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds to go with six points as the Hawks finished with a 41-36 rebounding edge.

The Hawks return to action next Friday and Saturday at the TD Bank Classic. The Hawks face Dartmouth at 5 p.m. on Friday then face host Vermont at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

Game Notes
- Portions of today's ticket sales went to Autism Awareness. The Hawks and SJU's Kinney Center teamed for Autism Awareness Day promotion at today's game.
- Samira van Grinsven added seven points, and five rebounds in a starting role.
- Senior Kelly Cavallo added two points and three rebounds before fouling out.
- Sophomore Erin Shields tallied eight points and had a block and pair of assists.
- Parker finished with five points, setting a new career high.
- Junior Mireia Vila had a game-high four steals to go with seven points and seven rebounds
- Junior Ashley Prim added four points, two rebounds and two assists.
- Junior Shelby Smith added a pair of assists and a rebound off the bench
- Photos from today's game can be found at www.sidephotos.com.