Hawks Ready for Run at Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball Title :: Saint Joseph's opens play Friday at 5:30 vs. St. Bonaventure

March 5, 2009

CHARLOTTE - The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team has its eyes set for for a four-day run to the Atlantic 10 title, starting this Friday as the 10th-seeded Hawks face the seventh seeded St. Bonaventure Bonnies at 5:30 p.m. at the Halton Arena.

Click here for Saint Joseph's Atlantic 10 Championship notes.

GAME STORIES . . .
• Saint Joseph's is looking for its third Atlantic 10 Tournament title, and first since 1998-99, as the Hawks open play as the 10th seed Friday at the 2009 Atlantic 10 Championship.
• The Hawks open play versus the seventh-seeded St. Bonaventure Bonnies, holding a 35-7 lead in the all-time series. Saint Joseph's did fall to St. Bonaventure, 64-52, in its previous matchup this season on February 8.
• Saint Joseph's has never faced the Bonnies or Richmond in the Atlantic 10 Championships. The Hawks have posted victories over the other 11 teams that currently compose the conference.
• The Hawks enters the 2009 Atlantic 10 Championship 34-24 all-time in the conference's postseason tournament and have won at least one game in each of the last five postseasons.
• Saint Joseph's has gone 11-7 at the A-10 Championship under head coach Cindy Griffin, with three appearances in the title game (2002, 2004, 2007). The Hawks have advanced to the Quarterfinals in every season under Griffin.
• Should the Hawks win on Friday, they'd face the second-seeded Temple Owls. Saint Joseph's, which has dropped seven straight to Temple - including two this year - has gone just 1-4 against its city rival at the Atlantic 10 Championship. The Hawks hold a 40-28 lead in the all-time series.
• Saint Joseph's is looking to become the first team in Atlantic 10 history to win four games in the A-10 Tournament. In 2007, the Hawks became just the second team to reach the A-10 title game without a bye, joining the 2003 Rhode Island Rams as the only teams to have accomplished that.
• Junior forward Brittany Ford, the Hawks' leading scorer at 12.3 points per game, earned Atlantic 10 All-Conference Honorable Mention for this season. Ford was previously been named to the A-10 All-Tournament Team after helping the Hawks advance to the title game in 2007.

ATLANTIC 10 CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
All-Time Record: 34-24
Last Year: 1-1
Last Game: L, 74-52, 3/8/08, vs. XU
Last SJU Win: 3/7/08, 71-58, vs. SLU
Current SJU Streak: L-1
Coach Griffin at A-10s: 11-7

The Hawks enter the Atlantic 10 Championship as a 10th seed for the first time since the Atlantic 10 shifted to a 1-12 seed in 2006. Saint Joseph's did earn similar seed as the East # 5 seed at the 2005 A-10 Tournament..The Hawks are 5-0 lifetime in first round contests and have advanced past the quarterfinals 17 times.

HAWKS AT THE 2008 ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP
Hosting the Atlantic 10 Tournament for the seventh time, the sixth seed Hawks posted a 71-58 win over the 11th-seeded Saint Louis Billikens in the opening round. Four Saint Joseph's players scored in double figures, led by Jenna Loschiavo's 16 points and Sarah Acker's double-double of 12 points and 12 boards. Advancing to face reigning A-10 champs Xavier, Saint Joseph's struggled from the field, shooting just 27.1 percent on its home court as the Muskeeters took control early and ended the Hawks' season with a 74-52 loss.

LOSCHIAVO NEARS CAREER GAMES PLAYED MARK
Since not playing against Temple on February 17, 2006, Jenna Loschiavo has been a constant in the Hawks' lineup, appearing in 100 straight games and heading into the Atlantic 10 Tournament. Missing just two career games, Loschiavo has played in 122 career contests and enters the postseason two games shy of the SJU all-time mark for games played, 124, set by Timisha Gomez `08 and KIm Foley `89.

FORD EARNS ATLANTIC 10 ALL-CONFERENCE HONORABLE MENTION
Having a breakout season as a junior, forward Brittany Ford was recognized for her solid play as she earned Atlantic 10 All-Conference Honorable Mention. Missing portions of three seasons due to injury, a now fully-healthy Ford has led the way for the Hawks, averaging a team-high 12.3 points per game, while averaging a career-best 5.0 rebounds per game. The Wilmington, Del. native stepped up her output in Atlantic 10 play as she posted her first career double-doubles at Rhode Island and at Duquesne. She enters this weekend's Atlantic 10 Championship 14th in the conference in scoring, tied for seventh in blocked shots per game (1.0), and 10th in field-goal percentage (.486).

McDADE ADDS UP THE ASSISTS
For point guard Mary Kate McDade, it took two seasons, but the Philadelphia native has flourished as the leader of the Saint Joseph's back court since joining the starting rotation at the beginning of the 2007-08 season. Since then, McDade has handed out 284 assists over 60 games (4.73 assists-per-game ) and cracked the top-10 all-time assists leaders in Hawk history. McDade has tallied a career-best 154 assists this season and stands seventh all-time in assists at 379.

LOSCHIAVO AMONGST SJU'S ALL-TIME SHOOTERS
Averaging 53 three pointers per seasons for her career, senior shooting guard Jenna Loschiavo will cap her Hawk career in the top-three of SJU's all-time leaders in three pointers. The Plymouth Meeting, Pa. native entered the season sixth all-time in three pointers made and attempted, but has steadily climbed the list of Saint Joseph's greats, standing third all-time in three-point field goals (212) and attempts (574). The 36.9 percent career shooter is within reach of second place (Katie Curry `93 - 216) as she enters the weekend. A complete list of SJU three-point career leaders is on page 78 of the Saint Joseph's media guide.

HAWKS CLAIM SHARE OF PHILADELPHIA BIG 5 TITLE
For the first time since the 2000-01 season, Saint Joseph's can add Philadelphia Big 5 champs to its resumé. Posting a 3-1 mark versus fellow Big 5 teams, the Hawks earned the program's 15th City Series title. Saint Joseph's shares this year's title with Temple, despite falling to the Owls.

THE GOOD KIND OF REJECTION
Making her presence felt in the paint for three seasons, junior forward Brittany Ford has quietly become one of the top shot blocker in Hawk history. In 78 games, Ford has totalled 77 blocks, ranking her eighth all-time in rejection.

BAKER MAKING MOST OF ROOKIE YEAR
The lone freshman to have played in all 29 games this season, Michelle Baker has been solid for the Hawks in both a reserve and starting role. Starting seven games, Baker has scored a freshman-leading 155 points, 68 rebounds, 21 assists and 19 steals while averaging 16.2 minutes per game.

CAVALLO BREAKING THROUGH
After seeing just 14 minutes of playing time over the opening 11 games, freshman forward Kelly Cavallo has played well in a reserved role ever since. Cavallo has come off the bench in 17 of 18 contests, averaging 2.2 points and 1.5 rebounds a game, while playing 7.9 minutes per contest.

OF NOTE...
• Freshman guard Katie Kuester is coming off a career-high 14 points at Dayton on Sunday and is fourth on Saint Joseph's with 16 three-point field goals.
• Junior forward Ashley Logue is averaging a career-best 7.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game and have paced the Hawks in rebounding 15 times and scoring four times.
• Sophomore forward Dominique Bryant has nearly quadrupled her scoring output from last season (43 points) as she enters the A-10 Tournament with 159 points on the year.
• Saint Joseph's outscored its opponents 832-831 in Atlantic 10 play, but finished with just a 5-9 mark.
• The Hawks are 0-5 this season in games decided by five points or fewer.
• Saint Joseph's is 0-2 all-time at the Halton Arena, having lost twice to Charlotte (59-57 loss on 2/12/08 and 81-50 loss on 1/20/06).