Feb. 9, 2008

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - Kristi Little's shot at the buzzer did not go as the Duquesne women's basketball team fell 59-56 at Saint Joseph's Saturday afternoon. Kelly Britcher had a game-high and career-high 20 points for the Dukes, who fell to 11-12 overall and 2-6 in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

SJU's Sarah Acker had a double-double of 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for the Hawks (13-10, 5-3).

With the score tied at 13-13 at the 12:30 mark of the first half, SJU went on a 15-2 run in just over five minutes, nine of those points were scored by Jenna Loschiavo, who finished the game with 13 points.

A Dominique Bryant layup gave the Hawks' their largest first half lead, 15 points, with 3:11 remaining in the opening half. Britcher scored the next seven points for the Dukes, cutting the SJU lead to eight points, 34-26, with 52 seconds left until halftime. Saint Joseph's Mary Kate McDade closed out the first half scoring with a pair of foul shots as the Dukes went into halftime trailing 36-26.

The Dukes scored the first five points of the second half after a Little 3-pointer to bring the Dukes within five points, 36-31.

Britcher's driving layup plus a foul shot at 6:12 tied the score at 49-49, but the Dukes fell behind on the ensuing possession after Ashley's Logue's jumper.

A McDade foul shot gave SJU a five point lead with 1:19 remaining in the game. Britcher's jumper nine seconds later brought the Dukes within three points at 59-56.

Duquesne had three chances to tie the contest in the final 24 seconds. Little's 3-pointer fell short, but the rebound bounced off a Saint Joseph's defender with 21 seconds remaining. Sam Thompson's 3-pointer was blocked by SJU's Brittany Ford with 14 seconds remaining and the loose ball was grabbed by Loschiavo, who went to the line shooting one-and-one. Her foul shot was off the mark and rebounded by Pollino. Little's attempt to tie the game at the buzzer was off to the left as they game ended with Saint Joseph's winning 59-56.

After shooting 56 percent from the field in the first half, the Dukes defense held SJU to just 9-33 shooting in the second half. The Hawks dominated in the pain, outscoring the Dukes 30-16.

The Dukes return home Wed. Feb. 13 to complete the home-and-home with St. Bonaventure.

GAME NOTES

Duquesne had a season-high 71 field goal attempts, 20 assists and 10 blocks and a season-low 10 turnovers

The Dukes tied a season-high with 23 3-point field goal attempts as well as 47 rebounds

Little had a career-high 20 field goal attempts

This was Saint Joseph's "Think Pink" game as part of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's "Think Pink" campaign. The initiative is a global, unified effort for the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's (WBCA) nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. Duquesne will be hosting their Think Pink game Wed. Feb. 13 against St. Bonaventure.