PHILADELPHIA – Led by Ciaja Harbison's 30-point performance, Saint Louis used a big first half to defeat the Saint Joseph's women's basketball squad, 81-58, at Hagan Arena on Monday afternoon. With the loss, the Hawks fall to 5-5 (3-5 A-10) while the Billikens improve to 7-3 (5-3 A-10).
Saint Joseph's junior guard
Katie Jekot poured in a season-high 17 points, shooting 7-of-16 from the field to go with three three-pointers, while sophomore guard
Kaliah Henderson chipped in 12 points and junior forward
Katie Mayock added 10 points, four rebounds, and three blocks.
For the game, Saint Louis shot 47.5 percent (29-of-61) from the field and hit 10 three-pointers while Saint Joseph's struggled with 37.7-percent (23-of-61) shooting from the field and 35.7-percent (5-of-14) shooting from deep.
How It Happened
Q1 – Saint Louis hit four three-pointers in the opening 10:00 and took advantage of Myriama Smith Traore's five offensive rebounds to put back 10 second-chance points to go ahead, 22-13, by the end of the first quarter. Henderson (five points) and Mayock (four points) combined for nine of SJU's 13 points.
Q2 – The Billikens used two 6-0 runs early in the second quarter to double up on their lead, 36-18, with 2:32 remaining in the half. Jekot hit five of her seven first-half points in the second to lead the Crimson and Gray as the Hawks went into the locker room down by 19 points, 43-24.
Q3 – Paced by a combined 11 points from Mayock (six) and Henderson (five), the Hawks closed to within 14 points twice in the third, but the Billikens shot 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from the field and held SJU to just five field goals in 18 attempts to extend their lead to 22 points, 62-40, heading into the fourth.
Q4 – Graduate student forward Alexis Santarelli drained back-to-back threes (9:18, 8:12) and Jekot hit back-to-back lay-ups (7:31, 6:52) to bring the Hawks to within 19 points, 69-50, but the Billikens would hold the Hawks to just eight points in the final 6:52 to secure the win.
Up Next
The Hawks head to Fordham this Friday, February 12 for a noon tip at Rose Hill Gym in the Bronx, N.Y. The game will be nationally-televised on NBCSN.
