Saint Joseph's Rally Falls Short Versus Quinnipiac

PHILADELPHIA - The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team's late rally fell short Sunday as the Hawks fell to Quinnipiac, 69-67, in the semifinals of the 22nd Hawk Classic.

The Hawks will now face either Florida Gulf Coast of CSUN in the consolation game at 2 p.m. on Monday.

Down by eight with less than three minutes to play, Saint Joseph's used an 8-2 run to make it a 69-67 game on a jumper by Natasha Cloud with 22 seconds to play.

The Hawks (3-8) fouled on the inbounds, and caught a break as Quinnipiac's Samantha Guastella missed both free throws to keep it at a one-possession game.

Off the defensive rebound, Cloud pushed the ball down the court, driving up the left side of the lane. SJU would not complete the comeback though as Cloud went to stop, she slipped and turned the ball over, allowing the Bobcats to run out the final seconds.

In a frantic first half, both teams tied five times and traded the lead four times as Quinnipiac built a 36-32 lead by halftime.

The Bobcats (10-2) slowly pulled away in the second half, opening a 60-52 edge on a jumper by Jasmine Martin with 5:35 to play.

Cloud would help rally her team though, scoring 13 of SJU's final 15 points - and assisting on the other basket - leading to the hectic final seconds.

As a team, the Hawks hit 26-62 from the field (41.9 percent), but converted just 1-12 from three-point range (8.3 percent) and 14-24 from the foul line (58.3 percent).

Individually, Cloud was 5-10 from the floor and 7-9 from the foul line for a game-high 17 points and matched her career-high with 13 assists. Sophomore Kathleen Fitzpatrick finished with 13 points, while junior Sarah Fairbanks posted an 11-rebound, 10-point double-double.

At the other end, Quinnipiac finished 26-61 from the field (42.6 percent), 8-20 from behind the arc and 9-16 from the foul line (56.3 percent). Guastella had a team-high 14 points to lead three Quinnipiac players in doubles figures.

Quinnipiac will play in the title game at 4 p.m. on Monday versus the winner of Sunday's other semifinal between Florida Gulf Coast and CSUN.

Game Notes: Junior Ciara Andrews finished with 12 points and four rebounds...Rookie Chelsea Woods had a career-high 10 points and eight rebounds in a starting role...Classmate Adashia Franklyn added nine rebounds, five points and a blocked shot...Fairbanks finished with four blocked shots...The Hawks are now 2-1 all-time against Quinnipiac...SJU will play in the consolation game of its tournament for the first time.