Feb. 16, 2011

Box Score

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Saint Joseph's women's basketball shot 57.4 percent from the floor (27-of-47) as the Hawks extended its win streak to four games with a 79-73 win at Duquesne, Wednesday evening at the A.J. Palumbo Center. Saint Joseph's junior Michelle Baker (Wilmington, Del./Brandywine) scored a game-high 22 points as the Hawks improved to 16-9 overall and 6-5 in the Atlantic 10.

Opening the second half up 38-34, Saint Joseph's opened a 41-36 edge only to see Duquesne quickly use a 12-1 run over the next four minutes to open a 48-42 edge with 13:41 left.

Saint Joseph's fought back though, regaining the lead, 57-54 on a layup by junior forward Kelly Cavallo (Hampton Bays, N.Y./Westhampton Beach) with 8:58 left. The Hawks would continue to pull away, taking a 65-56 lead on Cavallo layup at 5:59.

Duquesne would chip away, but a Baker jumper with the shot clock winding down reupped SJU's lead to 70-62 with under three minutes to go. From there, the Hawks would get another Baker jumper, this time with under 30 seconds left to seal the win as they would hit 7-of-8 from the foul line in the final minute.

In the first half, both teams answered each other early with the game tied at 15-15 with seven minutes gone by. Form there, Duquesne's offense began to click as it put together an 11-2 run over a three minute span to take a 26-17 edge on a jumper by Orsi Szecsi at 10:30.

Down by nine, the Hawks rallied to regain the lead for the first time since the opening minutes. Saint Joseph's used a 13-2 run to open a 30-28 lead on a pair of free throws by sophomore guard Ashley Prim (Ansonia, Conn./Kolbe Cathedral) at 4:58. The Hawks would end the half with an 8-6 run from there as a putback layup Baker with under a second to go gave her team a 38-34 lead heading into the second half.

Prim finished with 12 points, including 10-of-14 from the line and eight assists, while Cavallo added 10 points.

Freshman forward Ilze Gotfrida (Dobele, Latvia/Rigas Secondary School No. 49) came off the bench to score 11 points, while junior guard Katie Kuester (Media, Pa./Academy of Notre Dame de Namur) was the fifth Hawk in double figures - a first this season for SJU - with 10 points.

At the other end, Samantha Polino scored 20 points for Duquesne. The Dukes were held to just 39.3 percent shooting (24-of-61) as they fell to 20-6 overall and 7-4 in the A-10.

Saint Joseph's returns to action Saturday when the Hawks host La Salle at 2 p.m. The game is part of the WBCA's Pink Zone campaign for breast cancer awareness.