KINGSTON, R.I. - The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team start a two game road swing starting Wednesday when the Hawks head to Rhode Island for a 7 p.m. matchup with the Rams at the Ryan Center.
GAME STORIES . .
• Saint Joseph's begins a two-game road swing starting Wednesday at Rhode Island.
• The Hawks are coming off a last-second loss to Fordham, 48-47, on Sunday.
• Senior guard Natasha Cloud surpassed the 1,000 point mark for her career versus Fordham, finishing with 16 points to move up to 1,009 over her four seasons.
•As a team, the Hawks had a season-low five turnovers versus Fordham and are averaging 7.5 turnovers per game over the last two contests.
• Saint Joseph's looks to earn its second straight road victory after topping Davidson, 57-52 for its first road win of the year on January 31.
• The Hawks enter Wednesday's game with a 51-6 all-time record versus Rhode Island.
• Saint Joseph's has won 10 straight against the Rams, including a 72-35 win at Hagan Arena in their previous matchup on January 8, 2014 (boxscore and recap on page 2).
• The Hawks are 23-3 all-time versus Rhode Island in games played in Kingston, R.I.
• With its win over La Salle last Wednesday, Saint Joseph's earned a share of their 17th Philadelphia Big 5 title with the victory.
• Saint Joseph's shares this year's Philadelphia Big 5 championship along with Penn and Villanova as all three squads went 3-1 in City Series play.
• Graduate student Ashley Robinson is averaging 9.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game while shooting 46.7 percent from the field (14-of-30) and 84 percent from the foul line (21-of-25) over the last five contests.
Series History - Saint Joseph's vs. Rhode Island
All-Time Series: SJU Leads 51-6
Last Meeting: 1/8/14, SJU, 72-35
Last SJU Win: 1/8/14, 72-35
Last URI Win: 2/20/05, 56-53
Current SJU Streak: W-10
WOODS MAKING MOST OF PLAYING TIME
Freshman Chelsea Woods has made the most of her opportunity as the season has gone on. After playing just 93 minutes (11.7 mpg) and adding 24 points (3.0 ppg) and 19 rebounds (2.4 rpg) over her first eight games, Woods has come on strong during her last 13, tallying 50 points (3.9 ppg) and 65 rebounds (5.0 rpg), while playing 233 minutes (17.9 mpg) and leading the team in rebounding six times.
ROBINSON'S STRONG FINISH
Graduate student Ashley Robinson is making the most of her sixth season at SJU. Missing the first two years (2009-11) due to leg injuries, the 6-foot-2 forward has improved every season. A two-year starter, Robinson averaged a career-best 6.2 points and 5.4 boards per game over 25 games last year, but has surpassed them with a 8.8 points per game and 6.2 rebounds per game average this season and has climbed to 19th all-time in career rebounds with 464.
FAIRBANKS AMONG TOP SHOT BLOCKERS IN SJU HISTORY
With a pair of blocked shots at Davidson, junior forward Sarah Fairbanks moved to 10th place all-time in blocked shots at SJU with 78. She enters Wednesday with the chance to move up to sixth place with three swats.
CLOUD NAMED TO NAISMITH AND LIEBERMAN WATCH LIST
Senior guard Natasha Cloud has been recognized as one of the top players in the nation as she was named to the Naismith Trophy Women's Basketball 50 Watch List and the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List. Proving to be one of the best point guards in the nation the past few seasons, the Broomall, Pennsylvania, native has picked up where she left off a season ago, ranking 12th nationally is assists (6.4 apg), while pacing the Hawk guards with a 5.8 rebounds a game. Starting all 21 games, the A-10 Preseason First Team and A-10 All-Defensive Team honoree also leads SJU in steals (42) and ranks second on the team in scoring at 12.2 points per game.
FRANKLYN GARNERS MINUTES
Freshmen Adashia Franklyn has already proven to be a key contributor this season. Appearing in all 21 games, Franklyn is currently second on the team in blocked shots (22) and has led SJU in rebounding three times, including a season-best 11 versus St. Francis Brooklyn. She enters Wednesday second among newcomers in rebounding at 4.5 per game and scoring (3.1 ppg).
FITZPATRICK'S KEEN EYE FROM DISTANCE GROWS
Serving as a reserve last season, guard Kathleen Fitzpatrick has thrived this year. Tallying 39 points as a rookie (2.1 ppg), Fitzpatrick has already surpassed that as she has tallied 200 points over the first 22 games, good for a 9.1 points per game average. She additionally is sixth in the Atlantic 10 three pointers per game (2.1).
