STORRS, Conn. - While the final score will go to the record books, the spirit and effort of the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team will be the memory that stands the test of time. Facing the top-seeded # 1/1 Connecticut Huskies on their home court in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament, the Hawks battled until the final buzzer, exuding “the Hawk will never die” motto in a 91-52 loss at Gampel Pavilion.
Advancing to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament for just the seventh time in program history, the Hawks capped the year with a 23-10 overall record, matching the single-season mark for games played (33). An at-large selection to the NCAA Tournament, Saint Joseph's filled the season with several memories including a Big 5 title, the fifth-straight postseason appearance and a 67-57 win over eighth seed Georgia in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.
“We came to the tournament wanting to win, and go as far as we could go," said Saint Joseph's head coach Cindy Griffin. "Winning the first round game was certainly an accomplishment for us, to be able to go into this game with the opportunity of having nothing to lose, and we played that way. We played really strong today, and I can say that these kids left everything out on the floor. Connecticut is a wonderful team, they're number one in the country for a reason, and when they come off making four three's to start the game, we're going to have our hands full. We were always playing catch up and trying to challenge as much as possible, and we did that today. We're very proud of our kids, they did a wonderful job, and I think they can leave this year knowing we accomplished and maximized what this team could maximize.”
On Tuesday, Saint Joseph's had an opportunity to take the lead early, but a three-pointer by senior Erin Shields fell halfway down before bouncing out. A sign of things to come as the Hawks were held to just 34.9 percent shooting (22-of-63).
At the other end, the Huskies (36-0) hit their first four shots to take a quick 10-0 lead and continued to pull away as they shot 55.9 percent in the first half (19-of-34).
The Hawks kept its close midway through the half as senior Ilze Gotfrida hit the first of two three-pointers to bring SJU within 22-11.
UConn would take a 50-26 lead into the second half and kept the Hawks at a distance from there.
Despite being behind, Saint Joseph's kept fighting. With 9:42 to play, Shields and junior Natasha Cloud combined to make history. Off a pass from Cloud, Shields hit a three-pointer to make it 75-40. In doing so though, she matched Amra Mehmedic's record for career three-pointers (256), while Cloud surpassed Angela Zampella's mark for assists in a season. Cloud would add another assist later in the game to finish the year with 243.
Saint Joseph's would battle to final buzzer, with freshmen Lisanne de Jonge, Geena Gomez, Kathleen Fitzpatrick and Jessica Pongonis capping an exciting rookie campaign on the court in the final moments.
Individually, Shields and sophomore Sarah Fairbanks led four Hawks in double figures with 12 points apiece. Cloud and Gotfrida added 10 points apiece, while sophomore Ciara Andrews had four points and a pair of steals. Senior Kelsey Berger, finished her career with two points, three rebounds and two assists in 17 minutes of action, while redshirt junior Ashley Robinson finished with two points, five rebounds and two blocked shots versus the nation's top-ranked team.
Shields, Fairbanks, Gotfrida, Berger and Andrews additionally matched the single-season mark for games played, appearing in all 33 games to join 19 other Hawks.
For Connecticut, Breanna Stewart led five Huskies in double figures, tallying 21 points and adding a game-high 11 rebounds.
While the Huskies will go on to challenge for their second-straight national title next weekend, Saint Joseph's season came to an end. An end tp a season that the players, coaches and fans will cherish forever.
