PHILADELPHIA - The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team opens the 2015-16 season this Friday when the Hawks host Rutgers at 5 p.m. at Hagan Arean. Friday's game will be streamed for free on the Atlantic 10 Network.
GAME STORIES . . .
• For the second consecutive year Saint Joseph's opens the season versus Rutgers.
• The Hawks return 11 letterwinners, including three starters, from last year's team that claimed a share of the Philadelphia Big 5 championship.
• Entering their 43rd season of NCAA Division I competition, the Hawks have posted a 28-14 all-time record in season opening games and are 35-7 in home openers.
• Friday's contest is just the fourth season opener at Michael J. Hagan Arena for the Hawks. In the previous three games, Saint Joseph's has posted a 2-1 record.
• Prior to playing at Hagan Arena, the Hawks went 18-4 in season openers at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse.
• Friday's game is the 45th meeting between the Hawks and Scarlet Knights.
• Rutgers holds a 29-15 edge in the all-time series and has won the last three contests.
• Saint Joseph's fell at # 24 Rutgers, 76-52, in last year's season opener. Boxscore on page 2.
• The SJU women's basketball team is joining the student group Hawks for Heroes this Friday to help support and honor unsung heroes of our time: our first responders, military, veterans, and their families.
• Friday's game, along with next Saturday's home game versus Seton Hall, will be streamed for free on the Atlantic 10 Network.
HAWK HILL ADVANTAGE
Saint Joseph's has always had a reputation of playing well at home. Over 42 seasons, the Hawks have boasted a 407-147 mark at Hawk Hill, including a 67-25 record at Hagan Arena. Last year, Saint Joseph's went 9-4 at home and was 3-2 in the nonconference.
FAIRBANKS RETURNS AS CAPTAIN
Senior forward Sarah Fairbanks is serving as team captain this season. Fairbanks previous served as a tri-captain alongside Natasha Cloud and Ashley Robinson in 2014-15.
HAWKS PICKED SEVENTH IN ATLANTIC 10 PRESEASON POLL
Saint Joseph's was picked to finish seventh in the Atlantic 10 race, according to a poll of the conference's head coaches. Returning three starters and 11 letterwinners overall from last year's squad, the Hawks garnered 116 points in the A-10 Preseason Poll. Receiving 12 first place votes, last year's conference champion George Washington was picked to repeat with 194 points. Dayton was selected second with 177 points, followed by Duquesne (154) third, Fordham (132) fourth, Saint Louis (126) fifth, Richmond (118) sixth, the Hawks, and Rhode Island (113) eighth. St. Bonaventure was picked to finish ninth with 90 points, followed by VCU (89), George Mason (57), La Salle (52), Massachusetts (34) and Davidson (18), respectively.
ANDREWS NAMED TO A-10 PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
The Hawks' scoring leader a season ago, senior guard Ciara Andrews was recognized as one of the top players in the Atlantic 10 this season as she was named to the A-10's Preseason All-Conference Third Team. Posting a break-through seasons in 2014-15, Andrews proved to be the Hawks' top scoring threat as she averaged a career-best 13.0 points per game. Garnering All-Big 5 First Team honors, she appeared in all 30 games and made 28 starts for SJU, while averaging career-highs in rebounds (98) and assists (48).
SJU IN THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
This season, the Hawks will have four nationally televised games. SJU will make three appearances on CBS Sports Network with games against George Washington (Jan. 3), Fordham (Jan. 17) and Dayton (Jan. 24), while their February 7 contest at George Mason will air on the American Sports Network.
HAWKS TO FACE TOUGH COMPETITION IN 2015-16
As is the standard for Saint Joseph's scheduling, facing strong opponents is the norm and 2015-16 is no different. This season, the Hawks will play 13 games against opponents that made a postseason tournament last year.
FAIRBANKS AMONG ALL-TIME LEADERS
Senior forward Sarah Fairbanks enters her final season on Hawk Hill sixth all-time in program history in blocked shots. Having tallied 85 career rejections over her first three years, the 6-foot-1 forward is currently just seven blocks shy of tying Erica Pollock '07 for fifth at 92. Additionally, Fairbanks is closing in on the top-25 for career rebounds as she enters Friday with 427, just 16 shy of 25th place.
FIORAVANTI SET TO MAKE HAWK DEBUT
After sitting out the past 51 games, junior forward Amanda Fioravanti is set to make her Hawk debut this Friday. Coming to Saint Joseph's in January of 2014 after playing at Virginia the first semester, the 2012-13 Gatorade Player of the Year for Maryland averaged 1.5 points and 1.1 rebounds over eight games with the Cavaliers. Fioravanti has since sat out for SJU per her transfer situation.
GRIFFIN ENTERS 15TH SEASON AT ALMA MATER
Saint Joseph's Cindy Griffin enters her 15th season as head coach of her alma mater. The all-time leader in wins at Hawk Hill, she enters Friday with a 259-182 record over her first 14 seasons, and passed Women's Basketball Hall of Famer Jim Foster for career wins last year in a 58-54 victory over Villanova on December 7. During her tenure, the Hawks have made 10 postseason appearances and have had 16 Atlantic 10 All-Conference honorees.
THREE-POINT THREAT
Junior guard Kathleen Fitzpatrick had a breakout season in 2014-15 as she knocked down more than half of the Hawks three-points, hitting 53 of the team's 101. She enters Friday having connected on 60 of 195 for her career.
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF FREEBIES
The Hawks will have continually been one of the top free throw shooting teams in the Atlantic 10 and 2014-15 wasn't any different. As a team, Saint Joseph's hit 74 percent of their free throws (415 of 561) and finished 36th nationally in efficiency a season ago.
FOUR NEWCOMERS DON THE CRIMSON AND GRAY
Junior Jazmin Horne and freshmen Kristalyn Baisden, Michala Clay and Alyssa Monaghan will make their SJU debuts this Friday. The addition of the four newcomers helps bring the all-time number of players in program history to 184.
TAKE CARE OF THE BALL
Ball control has been a staple for Saint Joseph's teams under head coach Cindy Griffin. During her tenure, the Hawks have ranked among the top-50 nationally in turnovers per game nine times, including the previous five seasons. Last year, SJU finished 23rd overall, coughing the ball up just 12.8 times per game.
NEED AN ASSIST
Saint Joseph's will have a different look at the point this season, with the graduation of Natasha Cloud in May. Over the past three seasons at point guard, Cloud accounted for 582 of the team's 1,389, or 41.9 percent. The Hawks will look to Ciara Andrews, Mackenzie Rule, Jazmin Horne, Alyssa Monaghan and Kristalyn Baisden to create from the point this year.
GAME IN, GAME OUT
Junior Ciara Andrews and sophomore Adashia Franklyn are the lone returning Hawks to have played in all 30 games last year. Andrews posted a career-best 13.0 points per game to lead SJU, while Franklyn paced the team in blocked shots with 32.
UP NEXT
The Hawks have just over a week off before returning to action versus Seton Hall on November 21. Game time is set for 2 p.m. at Hagan Arena.
