Jan. 8, 2002

Box Score

AMHERST, Mass. - St. Joseph's took the lead on a Colleen McGahan three-pointer at the 7:38 mark of the first half and never looked back as the Hawks defeated the University of Massachusetts, 54-48, in women's basketball action tonight at the William D. Mullins Center.

The Hawks survived a second half UMass comeback which cut their lead to three with 5:33 remaining. Freshman Katie Nelson (Ellicot City, Md.) hit a three-pointer to make the score 44-41. The Hawks scored the next six points to push their lead back up to 50-41 and secure the Atlantic 10 Conference victory.

Junior Jennifer Butler (Brooklyn, N.Y.) gave the Minutewomen a 10-7 lead on a layup at the 11:04 mark of the first half. McGahan then scored the first of her two consecutive three-pointers that gave St. Joseph's the lead. McGahan led all scorers in the first half with 11 points on four-of-four shooting from the field, including three three-pointers.

Butler finished the game with a season-high 23 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field. Butler also had a game-high 12 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season. Nelson was the second leading scorer on the Minutewomen with nine points.

Susan Moran led St. Joseph's with 19 points, 14 of which came in the second half. Amra Mehmedic and McGahan each finished the game with 11 points.

The victory improves St. Joseph's to 11-2 overall and 2-0 in the Atlantic 10, while the loss drops Massachusetts to 2-11 overall and 0-2 in the A-10.

The Minutewomen return to action on Thursday, Jan. 10 when they take on La Salle University in Philadelphia, Pa. The game is slated to begin at 5:30 p.m.