St. Joseph’s women’s basketball team bows out in Atlantic 10 semifinal against UMass, 76-58.
Another upset wasn't in the cards for the Hawks, as UMass and Sam Breen carried the day.
The St. Joseph’s women’s basketball season came to an end as the Hawks lost to UMass, 76-58, in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 tournament at the Chase Fieldhouse in Wilmington, Del.
Less than 19 hours after defeating second-seeded Rhode Island in the quarterfinals, the seventh-seeded Hawks were unable to sustain the upset momentum for another day. St. Joe’s shot just 41% from the field and couldn’t stop A-10 Player of the Year Sam Breen, who scored 18 of UMass’ first 21 points, totaling 28 in the game.
“I am proud of the way our kids fought to the very end today,” said St. Joe’s head coach Cindy Griffin. “You are only as good as your last game.”
Laila Fair led St. Joe’s with 16 points.
Tired legs?
Legs or nerves. Or maybe a little bit of both, affected the Hawks.
The Hawks opened the game looking very much like a team playing its third game in as many days.
The ever-reliable Fair hit two layups in the game’s opening two minutes, but then the Hawks went on a four-minute scoring drought. The Minutewomen scored nine straight points during that lapse.
Breen was the entirety of the UMass offense in the opening 10 minutes, shooting a perfect 8-for-8 from the field and 2-for-2 from three, missing only two free throws in a near-flawless quarter.
“That first quarter we just couldn’t recover from,” said Griffin. “Give UMass a lot of credit and Sam Breen, what a hell of a player she is.”
After the first quarter, UMass led, 21-10.
Trading buckets
The opening five minutes of the second quarter saw the Hawks and Minutewomen trade buckets. St. Joe’s figured out a way to put pressure on Breen -- allowing her to score only two points in the quarter, an impressive feat in itself after her first-quarter dominance.
On offense, the Hawks established better consistency after seeing their first three-pointer fall 15 seconds into the quarter. Then, a Fair and-one ignited the St. Joe’s bench, which broke out in cheers.
But a 4-minute, 49-second scoring drought to end the half stymied any St. Joe’s rhythm.
UMass brought a 32-21 lead into the half after an 11-11 second quarter.
Defensive struggles
In the third quarter, the Hawks struggled mightily on defense. While they were doubling Breen in the paint, Sydney Taylor started to catch fire, scoring nine points.
The Hawk deficit fluctuated from nine to as large as 14 in the quarter, but the game never felt within reach. The Minutewomen shot 62% from the field in the second half.
In the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, UMass kept scoring, while St. Joe’s could barely keep up, deflating the spirits of the Hawks bench and fans in attendance.
Bright future
Four of the five St. Joe’s starters this season are freshmen, including Fair and Talya Brugler, the top two Hawks scorers in the conference tournament. Just three -- Katie Jekot, Alayna Gribble, Katie Mayock -- of the nine players in the rotation are seniors or graduate students.
“The seniors were telling us that we were having a bright future and that if we continue to work as hard as we do, good things will happen,” said Brugler.
St. Joe’s finishes the season at 13-17. The third-seeded Minutewomen improved to 25-6 and advanced to the championship game against top-seeded Dayton, which beat VCU, 59-48, in the other semifinal.