Jan. 17, 2013

Box Score

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Led by a career-high 25 points from junior guard Erin Shields, the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team held off a second-half charge from George Washington to top the Colonials, 80-67, Thursday evening at the Charles E. Smith Center.

Leading by as many as 22 in the second half, the Hawks (11-5, 2-0 Atlantic 10) saw their lead cut to 10, 58-48, midway through the period. Despite shooting just 34.6 percent in the half (9-of-26), Saint Joseph's would not allow George Washington to come any closer than 10 as the Hawks knocked down 9-of-10 from the foul line in the closing minutes to preserve the win.

Trailing 8-2 to start the game, Saint Joseph's quickly took control of the game behind a 19-4 run that spanned six minutes. Started by a pair of free throws by redshirt sophomore Natasha Cloud at 15:20, the Hawks would hit six of their next eight from the field, as a Shields' three-pointer put SJU up 21-12 at 9:03.

Leading 25-16, the Hawks would begin to pull away in the final minutes of the half as they opened a 38-18 advantage on a layup by junior Ashley Robinson (Warminster, Pa./Archbishop Wood) with 1:59 to go. Saint Joseph's, which took a 43-24 lead into halftime, knocked down 14-of-27 from the field (51.9 percent) in the first period, including 7-of-12 from behind the arc (58.3 percent), while holding the Colonials to just 10-of-30 from the floor.

For the game, the Hawks shot 43.4 percent from the field (23-of-53), 52.6 percent from three-point range (10-of-19) and 77.4 percent from the foul line (24-of-31). At the other end, GW shot 36.5 percent from the floor (23-of-63), hit 2-of-7 from behind the arc (28.6 percent) and 19-of-23 from line (82.6 percent).

Individually, Shields hit 7-of-12 from the floor, including 5-of-10 from three-point range to go with 6-of-6 at the foul line for 25 points. Cloud added 13 points to go with a game-high seven assists, while redshirt senior forward Chatilla van Grinsven added a game-high nine rebounds to go with 11 points. Senior guard Ashley Prim and junior forward Ilze Gotfrida gave SJU five players in double figures, finishing with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Chakecia Miller led George Washington with 20 points.

The Hawks return to action Sunday at Saint Louis. Game time is set for 2 p.m. ET.