Women’s basketball wins in two close calls in final seconds
The Saint Joseph’s University women’s basketball team took on Duquesne University on Feb. 1 and Saint Louis University on Feb. 5. St. Joe’s came away with 2 wins for the week, improving their conference record to 8-3, and overall to 11-12.
In the Hawks’ first showdown of the week, they came from behind to beat the Duquesne Dukes 60-58 off of a jumper from senior Jaryn Garner. The Hawks led for only 39 seconds throughout the entire game at Hagan Arena, but it was enough to come away with the win.
“I’m really proud of the way the kids played today; we didn’t shoot very well today, but we showed that our defense can win games,” Head Coach Cindy Griffin said. “I think down the stretch we really pulled together.”
Junior Adashia Franklyn led the St. Joe’s effort with 23 points, while sophomore Sarah Veilleux chipped in with 14.
Duquesne took control of the game early on, taking an 11-6 lead halfway through the first quarter. St. Joe’s was off, missing 3-point attempts, playing to the end of the shot clock, and turning the ball over. The first quarter ended with the Dukes holding a comfortable lead, 18-10.
Veilleux opened the Hawks’ scoring in the second quarter with a 3-pointer in the first minute of play, followed by another 3-pointer from sophomore Alyssa Monaghan to bring the score within one basket. The Dukes were able to pull away, but junior Chelsea Woods drained a pair of free throws to bring the score to 23-20. The Hawks ended the half behind at 30-23.
A jumper by senior Amanda Fioravanti started Hawk scoring in the second half, but Duquesne led 45-36 just three minutes into the period. St. Joe’s had a good scoring run to make the score 47-41 going into the last period of play.
Veilleux changed the momentum of the game scoring a jumper followed by a 3-pointer, and Fioravanti converted an and-one to tie the game at 49-49 with six minutes left of play.
The game turned in St. Joe’s favor, taking their first lead of the game off of a Franklyn free throw, 50-49, with five minutes remaining. The lead fluctuated for the remainder of the game until Woods made a layup with one minute remaining to tie the score again at 58-58.
Duquesne made an effort to take the lead back, but was denied when Veilleux delivered a crucial block to maintain the tie. Griffin called a timeout with 30 seconds left to play.
“We did not want to lose, we wanted to win,” Franklyn said. “Coach [Griffin] was telling us that we were 25-0 on this court against Duquesne and we all wanted to be 26. If we’re all on the same page together, we can do damage.”
From here, the Hawks remained composed, allowing Garner to make a jumper with 11 seconds left that proved to be the game winner, as the Hawks held on to a 60-58 win after a great comeback.
“We just kept battling back and forth when things weren’t going our way, and I think that’s a true sign of where this team is as far as maturity,” Griffin said.
The Hawks had little time to celebrate, as they had to prepare for a big matchup with the Saint Louis Billikens who had an exceptional record of 8-2 in Atlantic 10 play.
In Saint Louis, St. Joe’s took down the Billikens 66-63, improving their A-10 standing to fourth place.
Fioravanti led the Hawks with a career-high of 21 points and Woods added 15 to get their second win of the week.
Fioravanti scored the first 4 points for St. Joe’s, but the Billikens pulled ahead, leading 14-6 with two minutes left in the first quarter. The Hawks brought the score within 1 point off of a Franklyn jumper with seconds left in the period.
St. Joe’s took a one point lead to open the second quarter with a layup from senior Mackenzie Rule. The lead changed four times throughout the rest of the second quarter, ending with the Hawks leading by one going into the second half, 28-27.
The Billikens led for the majority of the third quarter until a Garner layup put St. Joe’s ahead, 46-44,with under two minutes left in the period. Saint Louis was able to tie the game, but the quarter ended with the Hawks leading 48-46 from a pair of Fioravanti foul shots.
From here, the Hawks maintained the lead for the remainder of the game, but not without pressure from Saint Louis. Their largest lead was seven points after a 3-pointer from Veilleux with six minutes left.
The Billikens came close to taking the lead from St. Joe’s with one minute remaining. Monaghan had a free throw to increase the lead to 65-63 with 28 seconds remaining. Fioravanti secured the game with a foul shot with 11 seconds left on the clock.
Saint Louis nearly brought the game into overtime with a 3-point attempt with three seconds left, but Franklyn grabbed the rebound to assure the win, with a final score of 66-63.
The women’s basketball team have won their last four games; their last loss came from first-place Dayton University in overtime on Jan. 21.
“I’m proud of all of the hard work that these ladies have been putting in every day and for focusing and paying attention to detail,” Griffin said.
St. Joe’s hopes to keep their streak alive heading into an away game against Jesuit rival Fordham University at 7 p.m. on Feb. 9.
