CHICAGO, Ill. – The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team never trailed, building a lead of as many as 21 points en route to a 63-50 road win over Loyola Chicago on Saturday evening inside Gentile Arena.
Saint Joseph's (17-8, 8-6 A-10) jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead, assisting on its first four baskets as
Faith Stinson added four early points. The Hawks held Loyola Chicago (12-13, 8-6 A-10) scoreless on its first eight attempts, pushing the lead to 14-2 with 2:35 remaining before the Ramblers made their first and only field goal of the quarter.
Cecilia Kay knocked down a pair of free throws late to give the Hawks a 16-5 advantage after one.
A 6-0 run early in the second pushed the Hawk advantage to 15 points. An
Emily Knouse 3-pointer and an
Aleah Snead finish extended the lead to 20 with 3:12 to play. Knouse buried her second triple in two minutes with a stepback three to give the Hawks a 36-17 advantage at the break.
After shooting 56 percent in the first half, the Hawks cooled to 5-for-12 (41.7%) in the third as six turnovers limited the offense to 10 points in the frame. With the lead cut to 14, the St. Joe's defense held the Rambler offense scoreless for a three-minute span to allow Snead and
Jill Jekot to build it back to as many as 18 points before a basket towards the end of the quarter cut the Loyola Chicago deficit to 46-30 with 10 to play.
Jekot opened the final quarter with the Hawks' first five points, and Snead pushed the advantage to its largest mark at 53-32.
Kaylinn Bethea knocked down a wide-open 3-pointer, and Snead's 16th point restored a 20-point margin with 3:36 to play as Saint Joseph's closed out the 63-50 victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Aleah Snead recorded her third career double-double, finishing with game-highs of 16 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.
- Jill Jekot scored 13 points on just eight shot attempts and added six rebounds.
- Faith Stinson chipped in six points and six rebounds.
- All eight Hawks who scored finished with at least four points.
- Saint Joseph's shot 26-for-47 (55.3 percent) from the field and 4-for-10 (40 percent) from three-point range — its fewest attempts from beyond the arc this season.
- Entering the game ranked second nationally in assist rate, the Hawks assisted on 19 of their 26 made field goals (73.1 percent), slightly above their season average.
- Saint Joseph's controlled the glass, 34-22, improving to 13-0 when winning the rebounding battle. The Hawks are also 13-0 when leading at halftime and 16-0 when ahead in the final five minutes.
- SJU moves to 5-0 all-time against Loyola Chicago, including 4-0 since the Ramblers joined the Atlantic 10.
UP NEXT
Saint Joseph's returns to Hagan Arena for a midweek matchup against Duquesne on Wednesday, February 18. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
