March 2, 2006
TIPPING OFF
Picked to finish eighth in the Preseason Atlantic 10 polls, Saint Joseph's has been a surprise team in 2005-06, rebounding after a season of transition in 2004-05. The Hawks, who have improved their record by 11 wins over last year, earned the fifth seed in the Atlantic 10 Championship after posting a 10-6 conference record. Saint Joseph's will also look to use its home-court advantage for the Championship, as the Hawks play host to the conference tournament for the second time in three years. Saint Joseph's, which has posted an 11-2 record at home this year, advanced to the A-10 Championship game in 2004 at Hawk Hill.
Click here for Saint Joseph's Atlantic 10 Championship Notes.
HAWKS AT THE ATLANTIC 10 Championship
For the sixth time in Atlantic 10 history, and second time in three seasons, Saint Joseph's Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse will host the conference tournament. The Hawks enter this year's A-10 Championship 28-21 all-time in A-10 postseason games and have posted a 6-5 record in games at Hawk Hill. Saint Joseph's is also looking for its third A-10 title and first since 1999, as SJU has gone 2-7 in nine championship game appearances. Under Head Coach Cindy Griffin, the Hawks have gone 5-4 at the A-10 Championship and made two appearances in the title game (2002, 2004).
THE NEW-LOOK ATLANTIC 10 Championship
Running March 3-6, the A-10 Championship has a new look this season as the conference welcomed two new teams to the league, Charlotte and Saint Louis. With the additions, the A-10 changed its postseason tournament format, as only the top-12 teams earned invitations and has dropped the East and West seeding for a general 1-12 seeded bracket. St. Bonaventure and newcomer Saint Louis failed to qualify for this year's A-10 Championship as they posted 3-13 and 4-12 conference records, respectively.
HAWKS AT THE 2005 ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP
Despite being the lower-seeded team, the Hawks earned revenge against the higher-seeded La Salle Explorers in the opening round of the 2005 Atlantic 10 Tournament. Saint Joseph's, which lost at La Salle the previous week, jumped out to a 28-21 lead at the half. The Hawks continued to control the ball in the second stanza as they kept their lead to the final buzzer, advancing to face top-seeded Temple. Versus the #16-ranked Owls, Saint Joseph's turned in arguably its best performance of the season. Trailing by as many as 20, the Hawks refused to give in and cut the deficit to nine midway through the second half. Cornish, who posted her first career double-double, scored 11 of her game-high 19 points in the second stanza, but it wasn't enough as Temple held on to win.
ALL-CHAMPIONSHIP HAWKS
Saint Joseph's will look to add to its list of Atlantic 10 All-Championship as the Hawks enter this year's postseason with 24 award winners and two Most Outstanding Players. The following is a breakdown of previous All-Championship members.
Player - All-Championship Team Year(s)
Debbie Black - 1985, 1987, 1988
Trish Brown - 1985
Robyne Bostick - 1993
Teresa Carmichael - 1987
Megan Compain - 1997 (MOP)
Melissa Coursey - 1999 (MOP)
Katie Curry - 1991, 1992
Amy Facer - 1995, 1997
Kim Foley - 1989
Stephanie Graff - 2002, 2004
Dale Hodges - 1988, 1990
Irina Krasnoshiok - 2004
Amy Mallon - 1993
Susan Moran - 1999, 2000, 2002
Jill Rooney - 1987v
Angela Zampella - 2000
