The Hawk

Issue date: 12/1/06 Section: Sports

Gomez tallied 12 points against Princeton.

On a Systematic Theology quiz, 51.9 percent is not so hot. Winning only 51.9 percent of the lottery, not that much fun.

On a basketball court, however, 51.9 percent from the field is pretty good.

The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team broke their three-game losing streak in Princeton, NJ against the Princeton Tigers, 81-69.

This is the first time this season that the Hawks completed over fifty percent of their field goals.

Against Bucknell, the game average was 35 percent. Against Hartford, the Hawks hit 32 percent.

Emptying their tanks early in the first half, Saint Joseph's outscored the Princeton 16-4 in the first four minutes of the half.

Senior co-captain Ayahna Cornish released the first three at Jadwin Gym within the first twenty seconds. To settle accounts, Cornish made another three at 16:21 In the back of her mind, she wanted a win. Cornish accounts for the first 13 of the Hawks' 16 points, making her first five shots.

Towards the middle of the first half, Princeton crept back into contention, due to layups by Princeton player Shelly Slemp and jumpers by Whitney Downs. The Hawks found their lead diminishing 28-24 with being scoreless for four minutes. With eight minutes left in the half, Hawk forward Erica Pollock made a jumper to restart the engines.

Both Princeton and Saint Joseph's rotated the bench in small clips, but the Hawks finished the half with seven straight points, ending the first half, 40-31.

Both teams excelled in rebounding, split across the boards. Entering the second half, objectives for the Hawks were to keep turnovers down (tallying nine to Princeton's seven) and tightening up post protection.

The Hawks needed to put more confidence in their free throw shooting. Ffrench has one of the best percentages at the line in the conference. In games like this, every basket counts.

The second half replicated the first. The Hawks opened with a 15-point advantage, 52-37. Again, Princeton started to gain ground as reality set in and trying to up hold home court dignity,

Still unable to block the Tiger's layup, Meagan Cowher brought Princeton within four at 7:57. Casey Lockwood stirred nerves with her completed free throws that put Princeton in one possession reach of Saint Joseph's, 65-62 with five minutes left.

Five minutes is a long time. A lot can happen in five minutes. Staring at the clock, Ffrench decided it was time to put this game away.

After making her two free throws, Ffrench and junior guard Timisha Gomez extended the lead to nine. Cornish made all four free throws and sophomore guard Jen Oyler tallied the last layup for the game, extending the lead to twelve.

Saint Joseph's edged Princeton 34-32 on the boards and ended 20-30 from the foul line.

Individual, Cornish stood out with 28 points and 9-16 shooting. Ffrench and Gomez contributed 17 and 12 while Oyler added nine. Pollock, starting for the second time, finished with nine points and six rebounds. Hawk starters are responsible for 77 of the earned 81 points.

Saint Joseph's improves to 2-3 as they travel to Chattanooga, TN for the Courtyard Classic.

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