March 21, 2013

STORRS, Conn. - The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team opens play in the 2013 NCAA Tournament this Saturday when the ninth seeded Hawks face eighth seed Vanderbilt at 11:05 a.m. at the Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2, with audio available on the Saint Joseph's Sports Network, as well as Sirius (94) and XM (193) Satellite Radio.

GAME DAY AT A GLANCE
Arena: Gampel Pavilion(10,167)
Audio Streaming: SJSN - Matt Martucci
Television: ESPN2 - Dave O'Brien and Doris Burke
Radio: Sirius 94, XM 193
NCAA Tournament Record: 6-11 All-Time (11 Appearances)

Saint Joseph's NCAA Tournament Notes

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GAME STORIES . . .
• Saint Joseph's is making its 12th appearance in the NCAA Tournament after winning the 2013 Atlantic 10 Championship.
• The Hawks earned the Atlantic 10's automatic bid with a 47-46 victory over Fordham in the conference title game last Saturday, March 16, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
• Saint Joseph's, the ninth seed in the Bridgeport Region, is playing in its first NCAA Tournament since 2000. In their last appearance, the Hawks downed Texas, 69-48, in the First Round before falling to Rutgers, 59-39, in the Second Round.
• The Hawks are playing in their first NCAA Tournament under head coach Cindy Griffin. Saint Joseph's has earned nine postseason bids (one NCAA, eight WNIT) during her 12 seasons as head coach.
• Saint Joseph's is one of two Atlantic 10 teams in the NCAA Tournament field. Regular season champion Dayton is the seven seed in the Bridgeport Regional.
• Saturday's matchup with Vanderbilt is the third meeting between the two teams with each squad having won once.
• The Hawks boast one most balanced teams in the Atlantic 10. Saint Joseph's is the only team in the conference to rank in the top-three in both scoring offense (64.9 ppg - third) and scoring defense (55.1 ppg - third).
• On defense, the Hawks are currently holding opponents to 35.4 percent shooting (621-of-1,753) and just 27 percent from three-point range (115-of-426).
• The Hawks' 477 assists this season are their most since 479 in 2003-04. Saint Joseph's most assists under head coach Cindy Griffin came in 2001-02 (541).
• Saint Joseph's 39.2 rebounds per game average is the team's best average since the 1992-93 season (40.7).

HAWKS VERSUS FIRST & SECOND ROUND OPPONENTS
Saint Joseph's vs. Vanderbilt - First Round, Saturday March 23 Saturday's matchup with Vanderbilt is the third meeting between the two teams. In the last contest, the Commodores, ranked #22/18 at the time, topped Saint Joseph's, 59-46, on November 24, 2009 at Hagan Arena. Shelby Smith, then a freshman, started the game for Saint Joseph's and had nine points on 3-of-6 shooting (all three-pointers) and added a rebound in 18 minutes. Ashley Prim had a game-high four assists and finished with six points on 2-of-3 shooting, including 1-of-1 from three point range and 1-of-2 from the foul line to go with a rebound in 22 minutes.

The two teams originally met in the First Round of the 1989 NCAA Tournament at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse. The Hawks won the first meeting, 82-68, on March 15, 1989.

Hawks vs. Vanderbilt (1-1)
Date - W/L - SJU-Opp - Site - Rank
11/24/09 - L - 46-59 - Hagan Arena - 22/18
3/15/89 - W - 82-68 - Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (NCAA Tournament)

Saint Joseph's vs. Connecticut - Second Round, Monday March 25 The Hawks are 2-4 all-time against Connecticut, but have lost four straight to in the series. Saint Joseph's won the first two meetings (67-56 on December 10, 1983 and 65-52 on December 28, 1987), but the Huskies have dominated the last four games, winning by an average of 29.5 points per game.

Hawks vs. Connecticut (2-4)
Date - W/L - SJU-Opp - Site - Rank
12/21/03 - L - 34-87 - The Palestra - 1/1 12/22/02 - L - 44-82 - Hartford Civic Center - 3/2 11/16/97 - L - 49-74 - Hartford Civic Center (Preseason WNIT) - 6/6 12/13/92 - L - 51-53 - Hartford Civic Center (Hartford Courant Classic) - 23/-- 12/28/87 - W - 65-52 - Richmond, Virginia (Dole Pineapple Classic) 12/10/83 - W - 67-56 - Storrs, Connecticut (Finast Gold Cup)

Saint Joseph's vs. Idaho - Second Round, Monday March 25
Saint Joseph's and Idaho have never met, but there is a connection between the two teams. Former Hawk Samira van Grinsven `12 (sister of redshirt senior Chatilla van Grinsven) is a graduate assistant with Idaho.

SAINT JOSEPH'S WINS THIRD ATLANTIC 10 CHAMPIONSHIP
The Hawks claimed their third Atlantic 10 title last Saturday with a 47-46 win over Fordham in the conference championship at the Barclays Center. Saint Joseph's, which was making its 11th appearance in the title game, previously won titles in 1997 and 1999.

THE ROAD TO THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Starting out as host for the first three rounds of the Atlantic 10 Championship, Saint Joseph's made its way through the A-10 bracket as the fourth seed to win the conference title. The Hawks earned a bye and downed fifth seed Duquesne, 73-60 in the quarterfinals at Hagan Arena. Moving on to the semifinals, SJU avenged a loss to #11 Dayton, beating the top seeded Flyers, 61-54, to advance to the title game at the Barclays Center. Despite trailing by 12 to start the game, the Hawks rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit to top Fordham, 47-46, in Brooklyn, N.Y.

CLOUD NAMED MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER
Scoring a team-best 15 points and adding six rebounds, six assists and two steals in the Atlantic 10 title game against Fordham, redshirt sophomore Natasha Cloud was named Most Outstanding Player of the Championship. An All-Tournament Team selection as well, Cloud scored just three points in the first two games of the conference tournament, before breaking out for a team-best 15 points. She joins Megan Compain (1997) and Melissa Coursey (1999) as the only Hawks to be named Most Outstanding Player of the Atlantic 10 Championship.

VAN GRINSVEN SELECTED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Averaging 12.3 points and 10.0 rebounds per game over three games at the Atlantic 10 Championship, redshirt senior forward Chatilla van Grinsven was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Tournament Team. van Grinsven, along with teammate Natasha Cloud, became the 28th and 29th Hawks to be named to the A-10 All-Tournament Team.

GRIFFIN JOINS ELITE COMPANY
Saint Joseph's head coach Cindy Griffin joins a very select few in NCAA History tis season, becoming just the eighth person to have played and coached the same program to the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. As a player, Griffin (nee: Anderson) helped the Hawks to three NCAA Tournament bids (1988, 1989, 1990), while this year marks the first time she has led her alma mater to the NCAA Tournament as a head coach. Below is the short list of people to lead their schools as a player and coach to the NCAA Tournament.

Name (School) / Player / Coach
Pokey Chatman (LSU) / 1988-91 / 2005-06
Mary Taylor Cowles (Western Ky.) / 1988-91 / 2003, 2008
Cheryl Miller (USC) / 1983-86 / 1994-95
Bev Smith (Oregon) / 1982 / 2005
Amanda Butler (Florida) / 1993-94 / 2009, 2012
Teresa Weatherspoon (La. Tech) / 1984-86, 1988 / 2010-11
Linda Lappe (Colorado) / 2001-03 / 2013
Cindy Griffin (Saint Joseph's) / 1988-90 / 2013

SJU CONNECTIONS AT THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
There are several SJU ties to each of the possible three opponents in the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Cindy Griffin served as an assistant at Vanderbilt under head coach Jim Foster from 1993-95. Geno Auriemma served as an assistant coach under Foster at SJU from 1978-79. Additionally, former Hawk Samira van Grinsven `12 (sister of redshirt senior Chatilla van Grinsven) is a graduate assistant with Idaho.

VAN GRINSVEN EARNS ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM HONORS
Redshirt senior Chatilla van Grinsven was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team. She is the first Hawk since Susan Moran in 2001-02 to garner First Team recognition.

SHIELDS NAMED A-10 MOST IMPROVED
Junior guard Erin Shields was named the Atlantic 10 Most Improved Player. The first Hawk to ever be chosen for the award, Shields was also named to the All-Conference Third Team and All-Academic Team. Shields averaged just 6.8 points per game as s ophomore and is currently averaging 11.6 points per game this year.

CLOUD RECOGNIZED FOR HER DEFENSE BY ATLANTIC 10
Redshirt sophomore Natasha Cloud was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team. She is just the third Hawk to earn the honor, joining Stephanie McCaffrey (nee Graff) and Michelle Baker.

HAWKS AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
This season, Saint Joseph's has played four games against nationally ranked team, splitting those games as the Hawks went 2-2. Saint Joseph's, which is 33-116 all-time against nationally ranked teams, downed #5 Maryland, 50-49, on November 17 and fell at #17/18 UCLA, 73-63, on December 31 and at #12 Dayton, 73-66, on March 3. The Hawks avenged the loss to the Flyers with a 61-54 victory on March 10 against an 11th ranked Dayton squad. This season marks the first time since 2005-06 that SJU has defeated two ranked teams, and is the first tme since 1991-92 that the Hawks have beaten two teams ranked higher than 15th.

DOUBLING UP
Redshirt forward Chatilla van Grinsven has made an immediate impact in her lone year at Hawk Hill, leading SJU in scoring (15.1 ppg), rebounds (10.5 rpg) and double-doubles (16). Her 16 double-doubles are the most by a Saint Joseph's player since Amy Mallon's 19 during the 1992-93 season.

HAWKS RACK UP 20 POINT PERFORMANCES
So far this season, Saint Joseph's has had 14 20-point performances between juniors Ilze Gotfrida and Erin Shields and redshirt senior Chatilla van Grinsven, the most since the 2006-07 season (16 times).

SAINT JOSEPH'S DEFENSE STIFLES EXPLORERS
The 31 points allowed against La Salle were the fewest the Hawks have allowed since holding Fordham to 29, in a 77-29 win on January 15, 2000.

GRIFFIN RANKS AMONG ALL-TIME A-10 COACHES
Head coach Cindy Griffin currently ranks fourth all-time in conference wins in the Atlantic 10. Having compiled a 109-69 record over 12 seasons, she also ranks third all-time in wins at one school, trailing just Joe McKeown of George Washington (240) and Theresa Grentz of Rutgers (156).

ROAD WARRIORS
Saint Joseph's was 9-3 on the road during the regular season with wins over Drexel, Hofstra Saint Francis, Penn, George Washington, Saint Louis, Rhode Island, VCU and Duquesne. The Hawks, who won only two nonconference road games in 2011-12, have already surpassed their total for road victories from a season ago (six). Saint Joseph's has twice posted nine road wins under head coach Cindy Griffin (2010-11 and 2002-03).

HAWKS POST TRIO OF 30 POINT WINS IN A-10 PLAY
Saint Joseph's has posted three 30+ point victories during Atlantic 10 play this season with wins over Saint louis (31 points), La Salle (37 points) and Massachusetts (37 points). This year marks the first time since 1999-2000 that the Hawks have defeated three conference foes by 30 points or more.

VAN GRINSVEN SISTERS HIT CAREER MILESTONES AT SJU
Redshirt senior Chatilla van Grinsven joined her sister, Samira `12, in scoring 1,000 career points with a free throw in the first half of SJU's contests at Fordham on February 24. The sisters are the only siblings in program history to each reach the 1,000 point mark in Crimson and Gray.

SENIOR CLASS JOINS SELECT COMPANY
This year's senior class has become just the sixth class in SJU history to earn a postseason bid inevery season it has played. Coming off three straight WNIT appearances and now an NCAA Tournament appearance, the Hawks joined the classes of 1979, 1988, 1989, 1990 and 2000 in playing in four consecutive postseason tournaments.

HAWKS REACH 20 WINS FOR THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR
With their win over Massachusetts on Wednesday, the Hawks picked up their 20th win of the season. Saint Joseph's has now won 20 games in three straight seasons and six times in 12 years under head coach Cindy Griffin. The Hawks, who have posted 20 wins 18 times in program history, set the record for most wins in a season in 1996-97 with 26 victories.

VAN GRINSVEN ETCHING NAME IN SJU RECORD BOOK
Redshirt senior Chatilla van Grinsven has already etched her name in the SJU record books this season and is looking to add to it. Collecting 324 rebounds so far this season, the starting forward currently is fourth all-time in rebounds in a season, with her 10.5 rebounds per game ranking third. Additionally, van Grinsven is tied with Wendy Brink (1983-84) for 20th in points scored in a season with 462. The Helmond, Netherlands native enters the NCAA Tournament with her 47 blocked shots tying for fourth most in a season alongside her sister Samira (2010-11), and Kelly Cavallo (2011-12).