WILMINGTON, Del. – After a 2-0 start to the 2022 Atlantic 10 Championship, #7 Saint Joseph's couldn't sustain a comeback against #3 Massachusetts, falling 76-58, in the semifinals. The Hawks conclude the season at 13-17 overall and finished ahead of expectations after being picked 10^th in the preseason coaches' poll.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Hawks went up 4-3 before a 9-0 run by the Minutewomen forced a SJU timeout with 5:05 left in the opening period. UMass went 9-6 into the break to hold a 21-10 lead.
• St. Joe's started the second stanza with a 6-0 run over the first 54 seconds to close the gap to 21-16. UMass opened things back up with a 9-4 spurt over a 4:53 span for a 30-20 lead with 3:28 left in the half. A 2-1 UMass advantage up to the buzzer made it a 32-21 game at the half.
• It was nearly even through the first 5:40 to the media break as the Minutewomen tallied a 10-9 margin. The teams traded the final 12 points for six apiece to keep UMass up 50-36 after three.
• The three seed widened the gap after a 5-2 margin to open the final stanza with a Hawks' timeout with 7:17 remaining. UMass would finish the game with a one-point advantage over the final 7:07, 21-20.

BEHIND THE BOX SCORE:

• The Hawks shot 41.4% (24-of-58) overall, 35.3% (6-of-17) from deep, and 80.0% (4-of-5) at the line.
• UMass went 55.2% (32-of-58) from the floor, 43.6% (7-of-16) from long range, and 55.6% (5-of-9) from the stripe.
• Laila Fair paced the Hawks with 16 points on a 7-of-15 afternoon. She added five rebounds and three blocks to her stat line.
• Talya Brugler posted 14 points and neared a double-double with nine rebounds.
• Katie Jekot tallied 10 points on a 4-of-8 outing, including 2-of-4 from three-point range.
• Olivia Mullins posted eight points.