PHILADELPHIA – Sophomore guard Katie Jekot lit up Hagan Arena with a team-high 17 points and a career- and game-high six assists to lead the Saint Joseph's women's basketball squad to a 67-56 win over Richmond in the Atlantic 10 opener on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Hawks improve to 7-6 (1-0 A-10) while the Spiders fall to 7-8 (0-1 A-10).

Saint Joseph's shot a season-best 56.9 percent from the field (29-of-51) as Jekot shot 7-of-12, including three three-pointers, sophomore forward Katie Mayock added 11 points (5-of-7 FG), junior guard Mary Sheehan chipped in nine points (5-of-7 FG), and sophomore guard Devyne Newman added eight points (4-of-5 FG) in 20 minutes off the bench.

The Hawks shot 62.5 percent (15-of-24) in the second half alone.

Additionally, junior guard Lula Roig and freshman guard Kaliah Henderson combined for 13 of SJU's 34 rebounds with seven and six, respectively.

How It Happened
Q1 – SJU held Richmond scoreless in the opening 3:27, and jumpers during that span from junior guard Mary Sheehan (7:43) and sophomore guard Katie Jekot (7:01) gave the Hawks a 4-0 edge early. Sheehan (5:39) and Jekot (4:57) then hit back-to-back three-pointers to put the Hawks up by six, 10-4, and SJU would go on a 6-0 run, paced by a pair of jumpers from sophomore forward Katie Mayock (2:59, 1:02), to go up by 10, 16-6. However, Richmond closed the quarter on a 4-0 run over the final 42 seconds.

Q2 – Freshman guard Kaliah Henderson got the scoring started in the second quarter with a jumper at the 8:08 mark to push SJU up by eight, 18-10, and three-pointers by Jekot (5:54) and sophomore forward Elizabeth Marsicano (5:28) - who buried her shot from the corner - kept the Hawks up by six or more heading into the final minutes of the first half. The Hawks would close the second quarter with a 32-26 lead.

Q3 – The Hawks poured in 20 points in the third quarter. A three-pointer by Richmond's Emma Squires brought the Spiders to within three, 34-31, at the 7:55 mark, but Jekot sparked a 9-0 SJU run with a jumper (7:11) and her third three-pointer of the day (6:39), Sheehan followed up with a jumper (6:02), and freshman forward Claire Melia converted a lay-up (4:40) to push SJU's lead to 12 points, 43-31. With the shot clock expiring, Mayock hit her second three-pointer of the season at the 2:28 mark to make it 48-35, and the Hawks would close out the third with a 13-point advantage, 52-39, entering the final frame.

Q4 – Saint Joseph's shot the lights out in the fourth, going 7-of-11 from the field. Henderson (9:08), sophomore guard Devyne Newman (8:38), and senior guard Nailah Delinois (7:50) hit back-to-back-to-back jumpers to kick off the scoring spree and Jekot converted a lay-up (6:43) just before one of the most exciting plays of the game; Delinois stripped the ball away from Richmond's Jaide Hinds-Clarke and got the ball to Jekot, who took a few steps before launching the ball up court to Henderson, who hit the lay-up to complete SJU's 10-2 run on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting to open the fourth. The Hawks would go on to hold on for the 11-point, 67-56 win.

Behind the Boxscore
• Saint Joseph's improves to 14-7 all-time against Richmond and has not fallen to the Spiders at home since January 14, 2007.
• Sophomore guard Katie Jekot returned to form with her 17-point performance, leading the Hawks in scoring for the third time this season with her seventh double-digit scoring game of the season.
• Sophomore guard Devyne Newman's eight points are her second-highest of the season and most since her first career start, against Penn on November 20.

Postgame Thoughts
"What a great way to start the conference season," said head coach Cindy Griffin following the win. "Our kids came out ready to play. We made shots, and we got the shots that we wanted to get. We really played with a lot of composure today."

"Katie [Jekot] has really been focusing on other parts of her game, which helps put less emphasis on the shooting part of the game. That was evident today."

Up Next
Saint Joseph's heads down to VCU (6-8, 1-0 A-10) this Wednesday, January 8. Opening tip is set for 6:00 p.m. at the Stuart C. Siegel Center in Richmond, Va. VCU is coming off of a 75-54 win over Rhode Island this afternoon and was predicted to win the A-10 this year.