March 4, 2005

Box Score

WASHINGTON, DC - Behind a game-high 18 points from sophomore guard Ayahna Cornish, the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team advanced to the quarterfinal of the Atlantic 10 Tournament, downing Big-5 rival 56-50 Friday afternoon at the Smith Center.

With today's victory, the Hawks will face the top-seeded #16 Temple Owls tomorrow at noon.

"It was a great effort out there by both teams today," said Saint Joseph's Head Coach Cindy Griffin. "(La Salle) was fresh in our mind (after playing them last Friday) and now we are going to face another club in Temple that is fresh in our minds."

"We went out today and played hard," Cornish said. "We've got nothing to lose."

"We had a lot of focus this past week," said junior forward Faith Schutte. We had a little revenge on our mind (after losing to La Salle last week)."

The Hawks got out of the gates early, jumping out to 5-0 lead. Junior forward Faith Schutte counted for four of Saint Joseph's opening five points.

Saint Joseph's opened a 12-6 lead midway through the opening stanza, only to have the Explorers cut it to one on a free throw by Carlene Hightower.

Cornish capped a 6-0 Hawk response, as Saint Joseph's opened an 18-11 lead on her free throw at 5:20.

La Salle refused to give in, rallying to come within 18-17 on a basket by Crista Ricketts at 3:35.

Leading by one, 22-21, the Hawks used a 6-0 run to end the half and enter the locker rooms up 28-21.

In the second half, Saint Joseph's opened its biggest lead of the half, 40-30, on a free throw by Schutte at 13:11.

The Explorers scored six on the next eight points to cut the Hawks lead to 42-33 on a layup by Davineia Payne at 9:43.

Both teams continued to exchange baskets, with Saint Joseph's hanging on to a narrow 46-45 lead at 4:46. Over the next 3:46, the Hawks held La Salle scoreless, taking a 51-45 lead with a minute remaining.

Rickets nailed a pair of free throws for the Explorers to cut the SJU lead to 51-47.

Following a free throw by redshirt freshman Erica Pollock, La Salle answered with a deep three by Shaune McLaughlin to pull within two, 52-50 with 22 seconds remaining.

Cornish was fouled on the in bounds and nailed two free throws to give SJU a 54-50 lead with 19 seconds left.

The Hawks' defense pressured La Salle in the final seconds and added two free throws at the other end to hang on to win 56-50.

For the game, the Hawks shot 34 percent on 18-of-53 shooting, including 0-8 from three-point range, snapping an 18-game streak for Saint Joseph's with at least one three pointer. La Salle finished 17-of-58 (.293) and 3-18 from behind the arc (.167). From the charity stripe, the Hawks finished 20-29, while the Explorers shot 13-16.

On the boards, Saint Joseph's posted a season-high 48 rebounds, holding La Salle to 34.

"We came up big on the boards today," Griffin added. "They didn't shoot the ball well today and I think our defense had a little to do with that."

Individually, Cornish led all players with 18 points on 5-of-shooting and 8-of9 from the line. Schutte tied her career-high with 13 points, adding six rebounds. Sophomore Whitney Ffrench added nine points and a team-high three assists, while junior Maura McBryan chipped in with seven points. Pollock grabbed a game- and career-high 14 rebounds, adding five points, while classmate Timisha Gomez added four points.

Rickets, who missed the final two games of the regular season with a sprained ankle, led La Salle with 14 points.

With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 7-22. The Explorers finish the season 12-16.