Saint Joseph's Women's Basketball Tops Princeton, 70-61, In Double-Overtime Thriller

Saint Joseph's Women's Basketball Tops Princeton, 70-61, In Double-Overtime Thriller PHILADELPHIA - Saint Joseph's women's basketball team outscored Princeton 15-6 in the second overtime frame as the Hawks topped the Tigers, 70-61, Sunday afternoon at Hagan Arena. Saint Joseph's got a career-high 29 points from junior Michelle Baker and won its fourth straight as the Hawks improved to 7-3 on the season.

Trailing by as many as 10 points in the second half, the Hawks finished with a flurry forcing extra time. Saint Joseph's took a 48-47 lead on a pair of free throws by sophomore Ashley Prim with 3:00 to go after playing from behind for most of the second half.

Princeton (8-3) quickly regained the advantage and led 51-48 with under a minute to go. However, Saint Joseph's willed its way to a tie as Baker converted a three-point play and forced the first overtime.

In the first extra session, both teams struggled to score as each tallied four points apiece. The Tigers got the first two baskets of the frame, but a jumper by junior forward/center Samira Van Grinsven made it a one-possession game.

Baker's layup with 38 seconds to go tied the score at 55 all, and the Hawks made a big defensive stop at the other end, but failed to get a quality shot off before the buzzer.

In the second overtime, both teams exchanged baskets over the opening two minutes, leading to a 59-59 tie with 3:20 to go. From there though, the Hawks flourished at both ends. Saint Joseph's held Princeton to 1-of-7 and caused four turnovers, while hitting on 11-of-13 from the foul line at the other end to ice the game.

In the first half, Saint Joseph's jumped out to a 19-9 lead as the Hawks limited Princeton's offense to 4-of-15 from the field and caused seven turnovers over the opening 11:35.

Down 10, the Tigers answered back with an 8-0 run over the next two minutes as a three-pointer by Lauren Edwards made it a 19-17 game at the 6:43 mark. Princeton would control the remainder of the first half as Edwards' jumper with 19 seconds left gave the Tigers a 26-24 lead at halftime. As a team, Saint Joseph's shot 25-of-58 from the floor (43.1 percent), while holding Princeton to just 25-of-71 (35.2 percent).

Baker added seven boards, four assists a block and a steal to go with 29 points, while junior guard Katie Kuester added 11 points. Van Grinsvenwas the third Hawk in double figures, adding 10 points.

At the other end, Niveen Rasheed's 18 points paced Princeton.

The Hawks travel to Delaware this Wednesday for a 6 p.m. tip with the Blue Hens.