PHILADELPHIA - Leading from the start and finishing with six players in double figures, the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team dominated visiting George Mason, 82-51, Wednesday evening at Hagan Arena. Led by senior Natasha Cloud's 17 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, the Hawks shot 49.1 percent overall (27-of-55) and held the Patriots to 30.9 percent (17-of-55) in snapping a three-game losing streak.
Jumping out to a 19-14 lead midway through the first half, the Hawks (9-16, 5-8 Atlantic 10) went on a 17-3 run over nearly five minutes as a jumper by graduate student Ashley Robinson pushed the advantage to 36-17 with 2:13 to go in the period. Sparked by eight points from Cloud, Saint Joseph's went 4-of-7 from the field and 4-of-4 from the foul line, while limiting the Patriots to 1-for-6 shooting.
Wearing pink and taking part in the Play 4Kay Initiative to support breast cancer awareness, Saint Joseph's would take a 38-21 advantage into the half after going 15-of-28 from the field (53.6 percent), while George Mason matched its season-low for points in the first half.
Not letting up at all in the second half, the Hawks pushed their lead to 21 points, 54-33, on a fastbreak layup by junior Ciara Andrews with 12:06 to play.
The Patriots (13-13, 5-8 A-10) would get no closer than 18 points from there as SJU's lead would continue to balloon to 31 by the final buzzer.
As a team, the Hawks finished with a 38-29 edge in rebounding, leading to a 15-8 edge in second chance points. Causing 14 turnovers, while coughing the ball up only eight times, SJU generated 13 points from turnovers and finished 6-of-13 from behind the arc (46.2 percent) and 22-of-28 from the foul line (78.6 percent).
Robinson finished with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting and 4-of-4 from the foul line to go with three rebounds and two assists, while Andrews added 11 points, five rebounds and two assists. Junior Sarah Fairbanks chipped in with 11 points, five rebounds and two assists, while sophomore Kathleen Fitzpatrick added 10 points, three rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot. Rookie Chelsea Woods helped pace the Hawks' bench, finishing with 10 points, seven rebounds and two steals.
For George Mason, Kristi Mokube paced the squad with 15 points and nine rebounds. From distance, the Patriots were held to 23.5 percent shooting (4-of-17) and hit 13-of-19 from the foul line (68.4 percent).
The Hawks return to action Saturday when they host Richmond at 2 p.m.
Game Notes: SJU is now 7-1 all-time versus George Mason...Rookie Adashia Franklyn added four points, four rebounds a blocked shot and a steal...Junior Jordan Strode added three points, a rebound, a steal and an assist...Sophomore Mackenzie Rule finished with a steal...Freshman Candace Belvedere grabbed a rebound in three minutes of action.
