PHILADELPHIA - In typical Big 5 women's basketball fashion, Saint Joseph's and Temple battled to the final moments. On Tuesday, that led to overtime where the host Hawks got key baskets in the final minute to earn a 78-74 victory at Hagan Arena.
The Hawks, who improved to 1-1 on the season, got a career-high 23 points and 13 rebounds from junior forward Sarah Fairbanks as they earned their eighth straight Big 5 win and move to 1-0 in the City Series.
After both teams exchanged a pair of baskets to start overtime, Saint Joseph's opened a 71-68 lead as Fairbanks converted a three-point play off a pass from senior Natasha Cloud.
Temple would push back, making it a one-point game three times. Following a Cloud layup that made it 75-72, Temple's Feyonda Fitzgerald made it a 75-74 contest on a driving layup with 20 seconds to go.
Sophomore Kathleen Fitzpatrick was fouled on the inbound pass and calmly sank both free throws to extend SJU's lead back to three, 77-74.
The Owls (1-1, 1-1 Big 5) would go for the tie in the next possession, but the attempt was off the mark and SJU redshirt sophomore Jordan Strode got the rebound and sealed the game with a free throw in the final moments.
"What a great City (Series) Big 5 game in November," said head coach Cindy Griffin. "You couldn't get much better than this, an overtime game. And of course winning is always fun."
The contest went to overtime as Temple mounted a late comeback. With the Hawks up 59-51 with under six minutes to play, the Owls regained the lead in the final minute. Using a 12-3 run, Temple took a 63-62 lead on a pair of free throws by Safiya Martin.
Saint Joseph's countered as junior guard Ciara Andrews scored two of her 14 points on a layup with 38 seconds to go to make it 64-63.
The Owls would tie it up on a free throw by Alliya Butts, but the Hawks had a final chance to win it in regulation. With the clock winding down, Andrews mid-range jumper missed, and a desperation tip by Fairbanks bounced off the rim as the buzzer sounded.
In the first half, Temple controlled the pace of play for the opening 14 minutes of the game as it built up an 11 point lead. Alliya Butts capped a 4-0 spurt for the Owls as they took a 28-17 lead with 6:03 to go.
Saint Joseph's freshman Sarah Veilleux helped bring the Hawks back though as her three-pointer at 5:04 sparked a 12-0 run. Holding Temple to 0-for-8 from the floor and causing three turnovers, Saint Joseph's rallied to take a 32-28 edge with with 53 seconds to go. Veilleux connected on her second three-pointer to put the Hawks up, while graduate student Ashley Robinson knocked down a pair of free throws to make it 32-28, as the Owls were called for a foul away from the ball.
The two teams would trade layups and Temple's Butts would knock down a three-pointer in the final seconds to make it a 34-33 game in favor of the Hawks heading into halftime.
For the game, Saint Joseph's shot 39.3 from the field (24-of-61), 38.5 percent from three-point range (5-of-13) and 83.3 percent from the foul line (25-of-30).
Individually, Fitzpatrick joined Andrews and Fairbanks in double figures as she tallied a career-best 14 points and added six rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots. Robinson was the fourth Hawk in double figures as she added 11 points, four boards and two blocked shots.
At the other end, Butts had a team-high 22 points for Temple as the Owls shot 37.3 percent from the floor (28-of-75), 26.3 percent from behind the arc (5-of-19) and 68.4 percent from the foul line (13-of-19).
Saint Joseph's returns to action Saturday at Liberty at 2 p.m.
GAME NOTES: Cloud finished with nine points, seven rebounds and three assists...Veilleux had her first career field goals, going 2-for-2 from behind the arc for six points...Strode finished with one point and two rebounds...Sophomore Jessica Pongonis added a pair of offensive rebounds...Freshman Adashia Franklyn grabbed a rebound.
