Dec. 10, 2011

Box Score

VILLANOVA, Pa. - In classic Big 5 fashion, Saturday's Saint Joseph's women's basketball game at Villanova came down to the final minutes. Unfortunately for the Hawks, the Wildcats prevailed in the end, 52-46, Saturday afternoon in SJU's City Series opener at the Pavilion.

Up by seven points early in the second half, Saint Joseph's (5-4, 0-1 Big 5) saw Villanova come back to take its first lead near the 15-minute mark. Saint Joseph's scored the opening six points of the second half to take a 30-23 lead, only to have Villanova answer back with an 8-0 run as Devon Kane gave the host Wildcats their first lead of the game, 31-30, at 15:10.

With the game tied at 38-38, Villanova scored six-straight points to take a 44-38 lead on a layup by Laura Sweeney at 6:49.

Layups from redshirt sophomore Ashley Robinson and sophomore Erin Shields brought the Hawks to within two, but a reverse layup by Sweeney made it a 46-42 advantage for the Wildcats at 4:57.

The teams would trade baskets over the next four minutes as Villanova maintained a four-point lead. Up 50-46 and less than a minute to play, Villanova ran the shot clock to the final seconds as Devon Kane drove to the hoop only to miss a layup. Unfortunately for the Hawks, Laura Sweeney grabbed the offensive rebound and passed the ball out to Kane. She would hit both free throws to cap the game.

In the first half, the Hawks took a 7-0 lead to start, and quickly opened a 16-6 edge on a layup by Shield at 11:19.

Trailing 19-9, the Wildcats used an 11-2 run to make it a 21-20 game on a layup by Megan Pearson at 5:18. The two squads would trade baskets over the remainder of the first half as the Hawks took a 24-23 edge into the second half.

For the game, the Hawks shot 32.8 percent from the field (19-of-58), but hit just 4-of-17 from the floor in the final 10 minutes of play. Saint Joseph's additionally hit 3-of-10 from three-point range and 5-of-8 from the foul line, while ending with a 40-34 edge in rebounds.

Individually, Shields led SJU with 14 points and added six rebounds, while senior Michelle Baker posted her first double-double of the year with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Sweeney led all scorers with 18 points as Villanova shot 37.7 percent from the floor for the game (20-53) as it improved to 8-2 overall and 2-0 in the Big 5.

Saint Joseph's returns to action on Monday, December 19 when the Hawks host St. Francis (Pa.) at 7 p.m.