PHILADELPHIA – Graduate student guard
Alayna Gribble and junior guard
Katie Jekot combined for 31 points to lead the Saint Joseph's women's basketball squad (4-1, 2-1 A-10) to a 63-61 victory over George Washington (4-8, 1-5 A-10) in Atlantic 10 action in Hagan Arena on Sunday afternoon. With the win on their home court, the Hawks improve to a perfect 4-0 this season when playing in Hagan.
The Hawks poured in a season-high 12 three-pointers, shooting 46 percent (12-of-26) from deep.
"For our players to be able to come off of the lay-off that they had, this was a great game," said head coach
Cindy Griffin of Sunday's performance. "It was a tough start and we were a little bit out of sync, but we had three really great quarters after that. GW made a run there at the end, but we were able to hang on. Coming out of this game with a win is really a confidence booster for us, and I'm proud of our kids for stepping up when they needed to step up."
Gribble didn't miss a beat in her first game back since December 15 as she led all scorers with 17 points, shooting 55 percent from both the field (6-of-11) and from deep (5-of-9). Jekot broke though with a season-high 14 points (5-of-9 FG, 4-of-7 3FG).
"It gives us spacing on the floor and gives us confidence that the offense is working," said Griffin of the Gribble/Jekot duo's offensive success. "Any point guard is always better with somebody that complements them. They really complement each other, and it's nice to see that they're working well together and that their experience is shining through."
Junior forward
Katie Mayock played a career-high 35 minutes off the bench and stepped up big in place of an injured
Gabby Smalls. Mayock recorded a season-high eight points, season-high six rebounds, season-high three steals, and season-high two blocks and dished out a career-high six assists on the day.
"Katie did a really great job defensively in the paint and made it real difficult for GW to get inside," said Griffin. "She played really big and phenomenal defensively, and she was shot-ready when she got the ball. She helped us on both ends of the floor. I'm very proud of her steps today."
Junior forward
Lovin Marsicano added nine points (3-of-7 FG, 2-of-5 3FG) while sophomore guard
Kaliah Henderson totaled eight points (4-of-5 FG) and five rebounds.
How It Happened
Q1 - GW shot 52.9% (9-of-17) from the field and held SJU to 23.1 percent (3-of-13) to jump out to a 20-8 advantage by the end of the first. Henderson had two points and two rebounds while Santarelli, Marsicano, and Gribble added two points each...
Q2 - ...And then the Hawks took over. The Hawks stormed back to outscore the Colonials 29-8 in the second quarter. Gribble (9 points), Marsicano (6 points), and Jekot (6 points) combined for seven three-pointers while Mayock came up big with six points, three rebounds, and three assists.
After GW's Caranda Perea opened the second quarter with a jumper (9:14) to extend the Colonials' lead by 14 points, 22-8, the Hawks tore off on a 29-6 run in a quarter for the ages. Marsicano (8:52), Jekot (7:23, 6:37), and Gribble (5:56) combined for a fast 12 points to bring SJU to within four, 24-20, before Mayock drained one in the paint (5:06) to close the Hawks' deficit to two.
A pair of GW free throws push the Colonials' lead back out to four, 26-22, with 4:38 remaining in the half, but SJU would close the second quarter on a 15-2 run to take a 37-28 advantage into the halftime break.
Q3 & Q4 - Both teams struggled offensively in the third as the squads combined for just 19 points, giving the Hawks a 46-38 edge heading into the final quarter. The Colonials clawed away at their deficit and found themselves down by just seven, 63-56, with 24 seconds to play.
Perea hit a three (:17) to bring GW to within four, 63-59, and Jasmine Whitney grabbed an offensive board and hit a jumper with one tick remaining to bring the Colonials to within two, 63-61, but the Hawks would hold onto the advantage as time expired.
Behind the Box Score
• The Hawks were without
Gabby Smalls, who is averaging 11.0 points per game and a team-high 10.0 rebounds per game.
