Nov. 17, 2011

BURLINGTON, Vt. - The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team returns to the floor this Friday and Saturday at the TD Bank Classic, hosted by the University of Vermont. The Hawks open play Friday against Dartmouth at 5 p.m. and face the host Catamounts at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

Saint Joseph's Game Notes

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GAME STORIES . . .
• Saint Joseph's is coming off its first win of the season with a 66-48 victory over Lehigh on Sunday. Nine of 10 Hawks scored in the victory, with SJU's defense holding the Mountain Hawks to just 29.2 percent shooting from the floor.
• This weekend's TD Bank Classic is the 69th in-season tournament appearance in SJU program history.
• The Hawks are 90-55 all-time in in-season tournaments and have won 17 titles. • Saint Joseph's has advanced to the title game in 15 of 18 in-season tournaments under head coach Cindy Griffin, going 27-15 in those tournaments.
• Friday's contest with Dartmouth is just the second meeting between the Hawks and Big Green. Saint joseph's won the previous game, 65-49, on December 30, 1980.
• Saturday's contest against host Vermont is only the second time the Catamounts and Hawks will face each other. Vermont won the previous meeting, a 2002 WNIT matchup, on March 17, 2002, 60-55.
• Redshirt sophomore forward Ashley Robinson was named Atlantic 10 Co-Rookie of the Week. Robinson averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds per game in her first two contests as a Hawk.
• Saint Joseph's was picked to finish fifth in the Atlantic 10 according to a preseason poll of conference officials and media. The Hawks are coming off a 20-12 record last year and advanced to the second round of the WNIT.

LAST TIME OUT: HAWKS TOP LEHIGH, 66-48
Backed by a balanced attack, Saint Joseph's topped Lehigh, 66-48, in the Hawks' home opener at Hagan Arena on Sunday. Senior guard Katie Kuester tallied a team-best 14 points as Saint Joseph's had nine of 10 players score on the afternoon. The Hawks converted 41.8 percent of its shots, while they held Lehigh to just 29.2 percent from the floor.

BAKER AND KUESTER TO SERVE AS CAPTAINS IN 2011-12
Seniors Michelle Baker and Katie Kuester will serve as captains for the Hawks during the 2011-12 season. Kuester was one of two captains a season ago, while Baker is in her first year of captaincy.

BAKER NAMED TO ATLANTIC 10 PRESEASON TEAMS
Senior guard Michelle Baker was selected to both the Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Conference Second Team and All-Defensive Team. Leading the Hawks in scoring (12.2 ppg) and tallying the most points by a Hawk since 2006-07, she anchored Saint Joseph's defense, and earned A-10 All-Defensive Team honors last year after helping the Hawks limit opponents to just 58.6 points per game.

KUESTER SJU'S ALL-TIME LEADER IN FREE THROW
Senior Katie Kuester enters her final season as a Hawk as the program's all-time leader in free throw percentage. Knocking down 96 of 111 shots for 86.0 percent, she is coming off a career-best 70 free throws made last year.

CAVALLO RANKS AMONG ALL-TIME BLOCKS LEADERS
With 74 career blocked shots to her credit, senior Kelly Cavallo enters the 2011-12 season ninth in program history in career rejections. The starting forward is coming off a career-high 45 blocks a year ago.

THE HAWKS' IRONWOMAN
Senior guard Michelle Baker has been the Hawks' Ironwoman since 2008-09. Beginning as a freshman, Baker has appeared in every game for SJU, making 45 starts in 99 career games. She is currently averaging 8.1 points and 3.2 rebounds per game for her career.

HAWKS ADD FOUR NEWCOMERS IN 2011-12
Saint Joseph's will have four new faces for 2011-12 with the addition of senior Chatilla van Grinsven, junior Kelsey Berger, sophomore Natasha Cloud and freshman Mariah Lesure. Berger, Cloud and Chatilla van Grinsven will sit out the 2011-12 season per NCAA transfer rules as the trio come to Hawk Hill from Air Force, Maryland and Colorado State, respectively.

SHIELDS AND PRIM POST FORMIDABLE DUO
Having the option of junior Ashley Prim or sophomore Erin Shields run the point is a welcomed opportunity for the Hawks. Combining for 197 of the team's 475 assists last year, the duo were terrific with the ball in 2010-11 posting a 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Samira van Grinsven NEARS 1,000 CAREER POINT MARK
Senior Samira van Grinsven enters the 2011-12 season just 31 points shy of 1,000 for her career. Tallying 229 points in her first year as a Hawk last year, the 6-foot-3 center previously scored 723 points over two years at Casper College.

ROBINSON MAKES IMPRESSIVE DEBUT
After missing both the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons due to injuries, redshirt sophomore Ashley Robinson made an impressive debut this Friday at Princeton. The All-Catholic League star posted an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double and added a pair of steals and three assists.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
Saint Joseph's 10 wins against non-conference opponents last year was the third most in team history since the Hawks joined the Atlantic 10. The Hawks's record for non-conference wins is 17, set during the 1984-85 season, with SJU winning 14 games the previous year in 1983-84.

SCHOLARLY SMITH
A standout on the court and the classroom, junior Shelby Smith is one of just two Hawks in program history to earn Philadelphia Big 5 All-Academic Team. The finance major is also a member of both the A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll and SJU Athletic Director's Honor Roll.

EFFICIENT CAVALLO
Senior Kelly Cavallo posted one of the efficient offensive season in program history in 2010-11. Hitting 116 of 189 shots, Cavallo posted SJU's second-best single-season field goal percentage at .614. For her career, she is shooting .576 from the floor (166 of 288).

THE FAST BREAK
• Sophomore guard Kasie Parker hit her first shot of the 2011-12 season and finished with five points against Lehigh. The points were the first of her career as she went 0-11 from the floor last year.
• Sophomore Ilze Gotfrida (Latvia) and Chatilla van Grinsven also competed for the national team at this past summer's U-20 FIBA European Championships.
• Chatilla van Grinsven, Samira van Grinsven and Mireia Vila are three of just four players to play for SJU with a "V" last name.
• John McCray, a 2011 graduate of Ohio State, is in his first year as graduate assistant at Saint Joseph's.
• The Hawks were held without a three-point field goal at Princeton last Friday. Saint Joseph's was held without a three pointer only once in 2010-11, failing to make one against Temple on January 19