SJU Athletics Photos

OLEAN, NY (1/15/01) ­ Angela Zampella handed out a school record 17 assists, including the 700th of her career, as St. Joseph's (10-6, 4-1 A-10) exploded for 44 second half points to pull away from St. Bonaventure (4-11, 0-4 A-10) for a 83-73 victory at the Reilly Center. Freshman Irina Krasnoshiok keyed the Hawk surge by scoring 16 of her career high 18 points after the break and grabbing a season-high 9 rebounds. She was supported by 28 points from Susan Moran. Zampella generaled the Hawk attack and maintained the team's composure after a sluggish start. The 17 helpers were a new school mark, breaking the old standard of 16, which she set last year against Air Force. She now has 702 career assists, just 16 shy of Debbie Black's SJU career record. In addition to the assists, she scored 20 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. "Ang has been with me for five years," commented Hawk Head Coach Stephanie V. Gaitley on her point guard. "She likes taking responsibility to being a leader on the court. She wants that challenge. There are a lot of demands on her to distribute, to score, and she has answered the call every time. That is a result of her being one of the top candidates for player of the year in this league." Krasnoshiok's break-out second half were crucial for SJU as the Hawks pulled away from the Bonnies. SBU was unable to match-up with the rookie as she connected on shots all over the floor. She banked home layups, canned mid-range jumpers and drained three pointers, while also being a force on the glass. SJU took its first lead of the game on a lay-up by Krasnnoshiok, just two minutes into the second half. The Cityliners then began to pull away with the help of a 13-2 spurt late in the half. The surge pushed a five-point lead out to a 16-point advantage, 77-61, with five minutes remaining. Freshman Amra Mehmedic drained two big threes during the run. SJU then coasted to the win. Gaitley reflected on the victory this way, "I think that anytime you win on the road it's a good win. And for our kids, they have to understand that everyone is going to give us their best shot. Our freshmen don't understand yet…that everyone wants to knock you off. In these games, we are the hunted. You have to be confident and you have to step across the lines and be ready to play and take everybody's best shot day in and day out." Tied at intermission, it was a reversal of fortunes for the Hawks in the first half. The Crimson and Gray allowed the Bonnies to score 39 points, SJU's worst first half effort of the year defensively, but posted its second best performance of the season on the offensive end to knot the game at the break. SBU opened the game with some hot shooting and raced to a 9-2 advantage four minutes into the contest and led by eight with 12:40 to play, 17-9. The Hawks, however were able to claw back into the game behind the steady play of Zampella and Moran, who had 13-points apiece in the opening period. SJU also received an unexpected spark from Amy Snell. Snell contributed 7 strong minutes and 4 points, including a put back as time expired to force a tie at the half. She finished the game by matching career-highs in minutes (24) and points (6). The Hawks will return from Olean and host a pair of critical Atlantic 10 games, this week, against Dayton on Friday at 7:00 p.m. and Xavier on Sunday at noon. The Xavier game will be televised by CN-8 as part of the Atlantic 10 network package. -