PHILADELPHIA – Freshman guard Kaliah Henderson went off for a team-high 14 points and eight rebounds - both career-high numbers - but the Saint Joseph's women's basketball squad ultimately fell to Duquesne, 58-51, at Hagan Arena on Saturday afternoon. With SJU up by two, 49-47, with 3:38 to play, Duquesne tore off on a 9-0 run to take a seven-point advantage into the final 36 seconds of regulation.

With their fourth straight loss, the Hawks fall to 7-10 overall (1-5 A-10) while the Dukes improve to 12-6 (2-3 A-10).

Henderson shot 6-of-10 from the field to go with eight rebounds, one assist, and one steal in 23 minutes off the bench. Sophomore guard Katie Jekot chipped in 10 points and recorded her second straight game with four steals.

How It Happened
Q1 – Trailing 9-5 at the 6:01 mark, the Hawks tore off on a 12-2 run en route to an eventual 17-13 edge to close the first quarter; sophomore guard Katie Jekot hit a three pointer to put the Hawks ahead (4:30) and sophomore forward Katie Mayock converted a three-point play (2:47) before freshman guard Kaliah Henderson hit back-to-back field goals (1:25, :44) to close out SJU's scoring for the opening 10:00.

Q2 – Henderson continued her scoring into the second quarter, scoring the first six points to extend SJU's lead by 10, 23-13, at the 7:02 mark. However, the Dukes tore off on a 9-0 run that spanned 2:47 to close to within one, 25-24, with 2:07 to go in the half. Junior guard Mary Sheehan hit a big jumper in the paint at the 1:15 mark to extend SJU's lead back out to three and the Hawks would hold the Dukes 0-for-3 from the field in the final 46 seconds to take a 27-24 advantage into the halftime break.

Q3 – The Hawks scored the first six points of the third quarter to initiate an 11-3 run that spanned the first 5:50 of the second half as five Hawks - junior guard Lula Roig (9:25), freshman forward Gabby Smalls (8:48), Jekot (8:32), Henderson (5:36), and Mayock (5:08, 4:10) scored for the Crimson and Gray. The Dukes responded with another run of their own, outscoring the Hawks 12-3 over the final 3:56 on 50% shooting from the field to close their deficit to two, 41-39, heading into the final quarter.

Q4 – Saint Joseph's opened the fourth shooting 0-for-7 from the field while Duquesne's Nina Aho hit a three-pointer (7:44) and Paige Cannon scored in the paint (6:42) to see the Dukes go up by three, 44-41. The Hawks chipped back as Roig converted a pair of free throws at the line (6:09) and, following a 1-for-2 Duquesne showing from the stripe that put the Dukes up by two, 45-43, (5:44), Sheehan hit a monstrous three-pointer from the corner, right in front of the Hawks' bench, to give the home team the lead again, 46-45, with 4:59 to play. Following another Roig free throw, Duquesne tied it up, 47-47, on a lay-up (4:09) before Sheehan again gave the Hawks a lead, 49-47, this time on a lay-up (3:38).

From that point, Duquesne scored nine straight points to take a seven-point advantage, 56-49, into the final 36 seconds of play. The Hawks were unable to get the offense going in that final half-minute en route to the loss.

Behind the Boxscore
• Freshman forward Kaliah Henderson set career-high numbers in points (14), field goals made (six), rebounds (eight), and minutes (22).

Postgame Thoughts
"We battled. We had control of the game in the third, and for two-and-a-half quarters, I thought we played really well together and very smart," said head coach Cindy Griffin following the game. "We knew they were going to go on a run. They're a great team, and we couldn't get the ball in the basket. We weren't getting stops down on the other end, which was disappointing. Putting them on the foul line really hurt us."

"Kaliah Henderson came in and gave us a great game. We relied on Gabby Smalls, and Jaden Walker gave us some good minutes. So we're getting experience, but here's the thing, you have to close out games, and we haven't closed out the last two games. We need to get back to the drawing board and back in the ring and keep fighting."

Up Next
Saint Joseph's hits the road to face St. Bonaventure (4-13, 1-3 A-10) this Wednesday, January 22. Opening tip is set for 5:00 p.m. at the Reilly Center in St. Bonaventure, N.Y. The Bonnies play La Salle in Philadelphia tomorrow before hosting the Hawks.