Jan. 24, 2012

OLEAN, N.Y. - Saint Joseph's women's basketball team caps a two-game road stretch this Wednesday as the Hawks head to St. Bonaventure. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at the Reilly Center, with free audio provided by the Saint Joseph's Sports Network.

Saint Joseph's Game Notes

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Game Notes

• The Hawks are coming off a 70-67 victory over Xavier on Saturday and have won three straight overall.
• With Saturday's win, SJU improved to 4-4 on the road this season. After going 1-4 in road contests to begin the year, the Hawks have won three-straight away from Hagan Arena.
• Wednesday's matchup is the 46th meeting between the Hawks and Bonnies, with SJU having won 36 of those contests. St. Bonaventure won last year's meeting 51-40 and have claimed three of the last four games.
• Saint Joseph's is 19-3 all-time at the Reilly Center and have won the previous four games at St. Bonaventure.
• The Hawks enter Wednesday's game ranked 13th in the nation in fewest turnovers per game (13.8), while St. Bonaventure currently is first at 11.9. The Bonnies are the second team SJU has faced this year that was leading the nation in fewest turnovers, with Villanova topping the country prior to the its game against the Hawks on December 10.
• Both Saint Joseph's and St. Bonaventure possess some of the best perimeter shooting in the country as the Hawks are currently 12th in three-point field goal percentage at 37.6 percent, while the Bonnies rank 10th at 37.9 percent.
• Senior Samira van Grinsven is averaging 10.7 points per game over the last three contests.

Series History - Saint Joseph's vs. St. Bonaventure
All-Time Series: SJU leads 36-9
Last Meeting: 1/26/11, SBU, 51-40
Last SJU Win: 2/6/10, 57-53
Last SBU Win: 1/26/11, 51-40
Current SJU Streak: L-1

BALANCED OFFENSIVE ATTACK
With six players averaging more than seven points per game, Saint Joseph's has put the emphasis on sharing the ball at the offensive end. The Hawks remain the lone team in the Atlantic 10 without a player to score 20 points in a game this season and currenlty have no one ranked in the top-20 of the conference in points per game.

ROAD WORK IMPROVING
Saint Joseph's struggled over its opening five road games, going 1-4 in those contests. In the losses - to Princeton, Vermont, #8 Maryland and Villanova - SJU was outscored on average 76-62. However, things are picking up with wins at Quinnipiac, Massachusetts and Xavier. The Hawks shot 86-of-172 (50.0 percent) in the three wins, while holding Quinnipiac to a season-low 25 percent and outscoring the Minutewomen 46-22 in the second half.

DEFENSE THE DIFFERENCE
A staple for the Hawks over the years has been their tenacious defense. This season it has continued as Saint Joseph's has held opponents to 266-for-759 from the floor (35.0 percent) in its 13 wins. Additionally, the Hawks held Lehigh, Drexel, Saint Francis (Pa.), Quinnipiac and Penn to under 30 percent shooting, and are coming off their top-two defensive performances of the year, limiting Penn and Fordham to 34 and 46 points, respectively.

HAWKS EXCEL AGAIN IN NONCONFERENCE PLAY
For the second-straight year Saint Joseph's has posted 10 wins during the nonconference portion of the schedule. The Hawks, who went 10-4 in the nonconference the past two seasons, won 17 nonconference games in 1984-85 to set the all-time record. SJU had won 14 nonconference games the previous year, 1983-84.

KUESTER SJU'S ALL-TIME LEADER IN FT PERCENTAGE
Senior Katie Kuester is currently SJU's all-time leader in free throw percentage. Knocking down 124 of 146 shots for 84.9 percent, she has hit 29-of-36 from the foul line (80.6 percent) this year.

THE HAWKS' IRONWOMAN
Senior guard Michelle Baker has been the Hawks' Ironwoman since 2008-09. Beginning as a freshman, Baker has appeared in all 112 games for SJU, while making 61 starts. She is currently averaging 8.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game for her career.

TAKING CARE OF THE BALL
A mainstay with any Cindy Griffin squad, this year's Hawks are proving to be one of the best teams in the nation in handling the basketball. Currently, Saint Joseph's ranks 13th in the nation in turnovers per game (13.8), and have posted eight games of 11 turnovers or fewer, including a season-low four turnovers at #8 Maryland. Additionally, the Hawks are currently 29th overall in assist-to-trunover ratio at .98.

CAVALLO RANKS AMONG SJU'S ALL-TIME LEADERS
Even with more than 10 games to go, senior forward Kelly Cavallo has already made a big impact on the Saint Joseph's record book. A stellar defender, Cavallo has recorded 105 career blocked shots, good for third in program history, while her 503 career rebounds ranks 17th all-time. Additionally, the Hampton Bays, N.Y. native is only the second Hawk ever to amass 100+ blocks and 500 rebounds, joining current assistant coach Stephanie McCaffrey `04 (nee Graff) who finished with 175 blocks and 788 rebounds.

PRIM HITS HER PRIME
Junior Ashley Prim has become a focal point for the Hawks' offense this season. Relied upon for her passing ability, the SJU point guard has proven to be a key scorer for the Hawks this year. Prim enters Wednesday's game averaging a career-best 9.4 points per game and leads the Hawks in assists (58), steals (27) and free throws (58) while averaging just 22.8 minutes per game.

PARKER MAKES MOST OF HER MINUTES
After playing just 38 minutes over 11 games as a rookie, sophomore guard Kasie Parker has made a strong presence off the bench for the Hawks this year. Averaging 11.3 minutes per game through 18 contests, Parker has given SJU a boost off the bench, adding 4.4 points and 1.4 rebounds per game so far this year. She has scored in double figures three times this year after not scoring a point as a rookie last season.

KUESTER NINTH ALL-TIME IN THREE POINTERS
Senior Katie Kuester enters Saturday's game eighth all-time in program history for three point field goals. The four-year letterwinner has hit 137 field goals and is eight behind Colleen McGahan (144) for seventh.

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. This season, the pair have accounted for 106 of SJU's 243 assists and are averaging 17.3 points per game together.