Jan. 15, 2006

Box Score

BRONX, NY - Saint Joseph's women's basketball team scored seven of the last nine points of the game as the Hawks downed Fordham 45-40 Sunday evening at Rose Hill Gym.

With the game tied at 38 apiece, Saint Joseph's freshman guard Jen Oyler drained a three pointer with 1:49 remaining in the contest to put the Hawks up for good 41-38.

Following a Fordham turnover, junior guard Ayahna Cornish nailed two free throws to extend Saint Joseph's lead to 43-38 with 28 seconds remaining.

The Rams added a quick basket, but the Hawks made two free throws in the final seconds to hold on to their second straight victory.

In the first half, the Hawks opened up a tight ball game as they scored 10 straight taking a 10-9 deficit at 7:41 to a 19-10 edge on a free throw by freshman center Hillary Klimowicz at 3:23.

Fordham would outscore Saint Joseph's five-to-three over the final moments, but the Hawks took a 22-15 advantage into halftime.

In the second half, the Hawks opened up a 10-point lead, 27-17 at the 14:54 mark. From there, Fordham went on a 16-to-six run to take its first lead of the second half on a Vanessa Silva layup at 7:15.

From there, Saint Joseph's would outscore the Rams seven-to-five to tie the score at 38 before the Hawks pulled away in the waning moments.

For the game, the Hawks shot just 29.1 percent (16-of-55) and 25 percent from behind the arc (six-of-24). At the other end, Fordham finished 17-of-49 from the field (35.4 percent) and five-of-11 (45.5 percent ) from three-point range. A major difference came at the foul line where Saint Joseph's went seven-of-13, while the Rams finished just one-of-two.

Individually for the Hawks Oyler scored a team-high 11 points, while Cornish and Klimowicz added nine apiece.

For Fordham, Lisa Carrol posted a game-high 15 points, while Stacey Price added eight.

With the victory, the Hawks improve to 12-4 overall and 4-1 in Atlantic 10 play. Fordham falls to 6-9 on the season with the loss and 1-3 in conference action. The win also moves Saint Josephs to 23-3 all-time versus the Rams and matches their total A-10 wins from last season with four.

Saint Joseph's remains on the road this upcoming weekend as it travels to A-10 newcomer Charlotte on Friday. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.