SJU Athletics Photos

PHILADELPHIA (2/19/01) ­ Big Five Basketball is just a little bit different. It means just a little bit more. Throw out the wins and losses, pride is on the line. And beauty? Forget about it. Bumps, bruises and floor burns are the badges of courage adorned by the City Series champion, not a gold tiara. The scars of battle seemed to fit the St. Joseph's women's basketball team (14-12, 8-7 A-10, 4-0 Big 5) to a tee, after scrapping past Temple (16-9, 9-5 A-10, 2-2 Big Five), 57-47, to secure their fourteenth Big Five title at the Fieldhouse. "There is so much pride and competitiveness that goes into playing in the Big Five," said Hawk senior point guard Angela Zampella, who won her third straight outright City Series title. "When you come out as Big Five champs it's a great feeling." The crown was the Hawks 10th outright and extended SJU's Big Five winning streak to 12 games, the third longest unbeaten stretch in league history. SJU currently holds the record for the longest winning streak with 15 straight victories from 1992-96. Villanova won 13 straight contests from 1980-83. Zampella shook off a recent scoring slump and led all scorers in the game with 19 points. Included in that total was a perfect 11-11 performance from the charity stripe. Her contributions at the line were key for SJU, which attempted 18 more free throws than Temple and connected on 15 more. She was backed by a double-double from Susan Moran, who finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. A sloppily played contest in which neither team shot better than 36% from the field, SJU settled down and took charge of the contest in the second half. An 11-0 spurt by the Hawks helped to turn a one-point TU advantage into a 41-31 Hawk lead with 7:14 remaining. "In the second half we were smart," said Zampella. "We were more aggressive attacking the basket and we got some great looks." SJU was particularly productive in the low post, as they worked the ball inside for either layups or trips to the foul line. In either case, SJU was rewarded for its patience. SJU, which is on pace to break the NCAA record for free throw shooting percentage, connected on 19-23 from the stripe in the second half. SJU's interim head coach Reggi Grennan felt that SJU played with more poise in the second half. "We had more on the line obviously than they did, although I am sure they built it up as them taking the Big Five title away from us. We knew if we lost, we would share it and that is something we don't really consider a Big Five title. I think we were a little bit over anxious [in the first half]. We had wanted to attack the basket, but we were a little bit out of control. In the second half, I thought that we did a great job of settling down and taking what they gave us." The Hawks after leading for much of the first half, trailed at intermission, 19-16. An ugly period of basketball, the two teams combined for just a single field goal during an eight-minute stretch early in the half. In fact SJU held a 6-4 lead with 8:21 remaining before halftime. "I think that both teams knew it was a Big Five game and came out pushing a little too hard, Instead of relaxing and letting the game come to them," assessed Zampella. Temple received a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) from Lisa Jakubowicz and 12 points from Natalia Isaac. The two teams combined to hit just a single free throw with SJU being held without a triple for the first time in 115 game. The last time SJU failed to hit a three-pointer was came against Rice on November 29, 1997. While the overall won-loss record has not been impressive this year for SJU, they have claimed three championships this season. In addition to the Big Five crown, SJU also won a pair of in-season tournaments. SJU captured the Kansas Jayhawk Classic in early December and also won their own tournament, the Pathmark Hawk Classic after Christmas. St. Joseph's concludes the regular season on Saturday afternoon at the Fieldhouse. SJU will take on Fordham at 2:00 p.m. The Hawks will say farewell that day to Zampella, the school's all-time assist leader, and Tim Regenauer, the first person in SJU history to serve as the Hawk mascot for four straight years.