PHILADELPHIA – Behind a standout performance from
Aleah Snead, the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team opened Big 5 play with a dominant 74-53 win over Penn on Monday night at the Palestra.
FIRST QUARTER
- The teams traded baskets early, sharing the lead over the first five minutes of the contest.
- Saint Joseph's (5-1) shut down the Penn (4-2) offense over the final 5:26 of the quarter, closing the frame on a 13-0 run as five different Hawks scored during the stretch.
- St. Joe's took an 18-6 lead into the second quarter.
SECOND QUARTER
- The Quakers opened the period with eight of the first 13 points to trim the deficit to six.
- 3-pointer from Rhian Stokes started an 8-0 Saint Joseph's run, extended by Kaylinn Bethea's first basket and a 3-pointer from Gabby Casey to push the lead to 31-17.
- Aleah Snead scored all four of her points in the quarter over the final 2:26 as the Hawks entered halftime ahead 39-24.
THIRD QUARTER
- Casey pushed the margin to as many as 20 midway through the third after Snead found her for a layup.
- Penn responded to cut the deficit to 15, but the Hawks closed the quarter with the final 10 points. Snead sparked the run by picking a defender's pocket and racing downcourt to find Jill Jekot wide open under the basket.
FOURTH QUARTER
- Snead opened the fourth with her career-high eighth assist, setting up Faith Stinson for her 13th point of the night.
- Casey either scored or assisted on the next eight points, finding Emily Knouse and Snead while adding a 3-pointer as the Hawks moved ahead 70-51 with three minutes remaining.
- Bethea knocked down a pair of free throws in the final 31 seconds to seal the 74-53 road win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Aleah Snead collected her first double-double of her career, finishing with 18 points and a career-best 11 rebounds. She also set a career-high eight assists while matching career-bests with five steals and two blocks. The 18 points marked her 15th game with double-digit scoring, recording her first game with 10 or more rebounds.
- Jill Jekot added 13 points for her third game of the season in double figures.
- Faith Stinson added 13 points, three rebounds, one steal and one block.
- Gabby Casey finished with 12 points, six rebounds and a career-high seven assists.
- The Hawks have won their last 23 games with four players scoring in double figures.
- Saint Joseph's finished 28-for-53 from the field for a season-high 52.8 percent clip. The Hawks finished 8-for-23 (34.8%) from 3-point range and 10-for-14 (71.4%) from the line.
- Penn finished 20-for-51 (39.2%) from the floor, the fifth time a Hawk held an opponent under 40 percent. The Hawks are 5-0 when outshooting their opponent.
- The Hawks assisted on 22 of their 28 field goals, finishing slightly above their 77.3 percent average that entered the game ranked second in the country.
- St. Joe's finished with season-highs in paint points (36). The 25-point lead in the third quarter was the biggest lead the Hawks held against an opponent this season.
- SJU improved to 45-5 all-time against Penn, winning the last five games against the Quakers. During the five-game stretch, the Hawks are +80. The Hawks are 27-2 at the Palestra and are 19-5 under head coach Cindy Griffin.
- The Hawks are now 22-2 in November since the start of 2022-23.
UP NEXT
Saint Joseph's hosts Drexel in the final Big 5 pod game on Saturday, Nov. 29. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
