Feb. 20, 2005

Box Score

KINGSTON, RI - A three-pointer by Rhode Island's Mia Marcus with 18 seconds remaining was the decisive basket as the Rams downed Saint Joseph's women's basketball 56-53 Sunday afternoon at the Ryan Center.

The Hawks saw a 52-44 lead evaporate over the final 4:33 as Rhode Island went on a 12-1 run to end the game. The Rams senior guard Peta Kneen tied the game at 53 after being fouled on a layup. Kneen made the basket and added the free throw to tie the game with 1:37 remaining.

In their next possessions, both the Hawks and Rams failed to convert as Rhode Island missed a layup, while Saint Joseph's sophomore guard Whitney Ffrench missed a 16-foot baseline jump shot with 42 seconds remaining.

Following a Rhode Island timeout, Kneen found a wide-open Marcus on the far wing. Marcus drained the open three pointer to give Rhode Island a 56-53 lead.

Saint Joseph's brought the ball down the court, but Marcus knocked the ball into the Hawks backcourt. The Hawks' junior forward Faith Schutte gathered the ball and got it up to sophomore Ayahna Cornish for a last-second heave, but the ball clanged off the rim as the buzzer sounded.

In a back-and-forth game that saw 27 Saint Joseph's turnovers, the Hawks trailed 24-20 heading into the locker-room.

Rhode Island quickly extended their lead to eight less than two minutes in to the second half, but Saint Joseph's refused to give in. Trailing 38-32, the Hawks mounted a 7-0 run to take a 39-38 lead at 9:52 on a jump shot by junior Maura McBryan.

With the score tied at 44 with 6:23 remaining in the game, Saint Joseph's opened an eight point lead, scoring eight straight points to take a 52-44 lead on a pair of free throws by Ffrench at 4:33. From there, Rhode Island clamped down allowing one more Saint Joseph's point on its way to a 56-53 win.

For the game, the Hawks went 15-of-36 from the field (.417) and 2-of-5 from three-point range (.400), while the Rams shot 21-of-55 (.382) and 2-of11 from behind the arc (.182). Saint Joseph's won the battle on the boards 36-27, but was outscored 32-20 in the paint. Rhode Island also turned 27 Hawk turnovers into 31 points.

Individually, McBryan paced Saint Joseph's for the second straight game, posting her third double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Red-shirt freshman Erica Pollock added 15 points, eight rebounds and a team-high two blocks.

For Rhode Island, Kneen led all Rams with 14 points and added four assists. Seniors Katie Stailing and Chrys Washington added 15 and 12 points, respectively.

With the loss, the Hawks fall to 6-20 overall and 4-10 in the Atlantic 10. Rhode Island improved to 7-18 and 5-9 in the A-10. The loss drops Saint Joseph's into a tie for fourth in the A-10 East with Fordham and St. Bonaventure with only two games remaining in the regular season.

Saint Joseph's will try to rebound from today's loss when it travels to Big 5 rival La Salle at 7 p.m. Friday.