Backed by a career-high 33 points from senior Chelsea Woods, sixth seed Saint Joseph's downed 11th seed VCU, 72-63, in the First Round of the 2018 Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball Championship on Tuesday evening at Hagan Arena.

With the win, the Hawks advance to face third seed Fordham on Friday at 7 p.m. in the Quarterfinals of the A-10 Championship at the Richmond Coliseum. The final three rounds of the A-10 Championship will be held at the Richmond Coliseum, with the title game set for a noon start on Sunday.

In a close battle throughout, Saint Joseph's (16-13) entered the final quarter ahead 45-41, but quickly upped its lead to double digits. Behind an 8-0 run, the Hawks opened a 53-41 advantage on a layup by Woods with 8:08 to play.

VCU (7-22) chipped away at the margin though, cutting it to six, 56-50, at the 5:09 mark on a jumper by Taya Robinson.

Saint Joseph's would keep the Rams at a distance from there though as the Hawks converted at the line, going 14-of-16, as they allowed VCU to get no closer.

For the game, SJU shot 48.9 percent from the field (22-of-45), hit 2-of-10 from three-point range and went 26-of-29 from the foul line (89.7 percent). 

Finishing the game 12-of-16 from the field and 9-of-12 from the foul line, Woods posted the most points by a Hawk since Ayahna Cornish's 35 at Dayton on February 17, 2007, and the most by a SJU player in an A-10 Championship game since Dale Hodges' 35 against West Virginia on March 9, 1990 in a Semifinal contest. Woods additionally posted a game-high seven rebounds and added two assists, two blocked shots and a steal.

Junior Sarah Veilleux scored 14 points and handed out four assists for the Hawks, while classmate Alyssa Monaghan scored 12 points, going 12-for-12 from the foul line, to match a program record for proficiency held by Mary Sue Garrity, Angela Zampella and current assistant coach Stephanie McCaffrey.

At the other end, the Rams shot 37.3 percent from the floor (19-of-51), went 4-of-10 from behind the arc and 16-of-20 from the foul line. Robinson led two VCU players in double figures with 18 points.

Game Notes: SJU finished with a 32-22 edge in rebounding...Senior Adashia Franklyn added six points and five rebounds...Graduate student Amanda Fioravanti scored four points and had five rebounds...Junior Kristalyn Baisden added three points and four assists...Graduate student Jaryn Garner had a rebounds...Rookie Lula Roig played three minutes...Senior Candace Belvedere and junior Michala Clay played a minute...Garrity still holds the record for most free throw makes without a miss at 16, while Monaghan matches Zampella at 12.

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