RICHMOND, Va. - Battling back from a six-point deficit with under a minute to go in overtime, the Saint Joseph's women's basketball had a chance to force another extra frame versus George Washington in the final moments. Unfortunately for the Hawks, the final shot failed to connect as they fell, 82-79, to the Colonials in the Quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Championships at the Richmond Coliseum on Thursday afternoon.

Down 80-74 with 34 seconds to play in overtime, Saint Joseph's got a layup by junior Natasha Cloud to come within four with 29 seconds remaining.

After George Washington went 1-for-2 from the line, Cloud again drove and got a layup, making it a 81-78 game.

The Hawks again fouled, and again the Colonials' Hannah Schaible hit 1-of-2, leading to a quick transition for the SJU offense and a foul by George Washington.

Redshirt junior Ashley Robinson hit the first of two free throws, but her second bounced out into the hands of SJU senior Erin Shields.

Following a timeout with 9.8 seconds to go, the Hawks worked the ball to Shields for a three-pointer. Despite a miss, Cloud got the offensive rebound and found Shields again. Unfortunately, the ball hit the front of the rim as the horn sounded.

In a tight game in which neither team led by more than seven, Saint Joseph's (22-9) fought back from a four point hole with under five minutes to play to take a 58-57 lead on a layup by Robinson with 2:46 to play.

The Colonials (21-9) would regain the lead, 61-60, but a free throws and layup by SJU's Cloud gave her team a 63-61 edge with 1:44 to play.

George Washington's Danni Jackson would hit a pair of free throws to tie the game with 50 second to play.

Each team would have a possession from there, but failed to score, leading to a half-court shot by Shields that hit just off the back of the iron at the buzzer.

In the first half, Saint Joseph's fell behind 25-18, but closed the period on a 15-5 run as a three-pointer by Shields in the final moments gave her team a 33-30 lead going into the second half.

As a team, the Hawks shot 48.5 percent overall (33-of-68), but hit just 4-of-16 from behind the arc and 9-of-16 from the foul line (56.3 percent).

Individually, all five SJU starters finished in double figures, led by 19 points and six rebounds from sophomore forward Sarah Fairbanks. Shields, who set the SJU record for games played with her 128th appearance, added 17 points, four rebounds and three assists, while Cloud had a game-high eight assists to go with 13 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Robinson and sophomore Ciara Andrews each chipped in with 13 points apiece.

At the other end, George Washington shot 40.9 percent (27-of-66), hit 6-of-14 from three-point range (42.9 percent) and 22-of-32 from the foul line (68.8 percent). Jonquel Jones led four Colonials in double figures with a game-high 30 points and 16 rebounds.

Game Notes: Senior Ilze Gotfrida added four points, six rebounds and two assists...Classmate Kelsey Berger added a rebound and an assist...The Hawks outscored GW 50-30 in the paint...The score was tied 10 times and lead changed hands nine times.