Saint Joseph’s senior forward Brittany Ford hit a 15-foot baseline jumper with just 0.9 seconds left to play in Sunday’s game against Richmond to win, 67-66.
The final moment of the game was the only time in the second half when the Hawks were able to take the lead, but it turned out to be all that was needed to clinch a SJU victory.
SJU made an impressive comeback after Richmond (16-10, 5-6 Atlantic 10) outscored Saint Joseph’s 16-5 to start the second half, taking a 47-38 lead just a few minutes after intermission.
St. Joseph’s was able to chip away as they made an impressive turnaround and only trailed by one point with 13 seconds to go. Richmond caught a break when senior guard Danielle Bell was fouled during a scramble for a defensive rebound, but it was short-lived as Bell missed both free throws and SJU came up with the rebound.
The Hawks were able to capitalize on their last possession of the game after taking a time-out during which Ford came off the bench and sank the game-winning shot.
With the win, Saint Joseph’s improves to 15-12 overall and 8-4 in the A-10.
Woods named A-10 Player of the Week
St. Louis junior forward Lauren Woods was named the A-10 Player of the Week for the first time in her career after two consecutive standout performances. Woods had a strong presence against Fordham on Feb. 16 with a career-high and team-high 27 points, leading the Billkens to a 71-60 win.
She also had 21 points in a 65-63 victory against Charlotte, giving her two consecutive 20-plus scoring games for the first time in her career with SLU. Woods shot 60 percent (15-of-25) from the field and 73 percent from the foul line in the two games, and also averaged an impressive 24 points.
Woods has consistently been a valuable asset for the Billikens and as a sophomore played in all 30 games of the season while starting in six. This season, she ranks fifth in the A-10 with a 14.3 scoring average which is also a team high. Woods also has a total of 387 points this season, which is fourth most by a junior in SLU women’s basketball history.
Woods is known for being a clutch free-throw shooter, making 126 foul shots this season alone (including 16 she made in the games against Fordham and Charlotte), as well as a total of 265 throughout her career.
Mitchell’s No. 5 jersey to be retired
Senior Dana Mitchell of Fairless Hills, Pa., will become the first player in St. Bonaventure women’s basketball history to have her jersey retired today.
After joining the Bonnies in 2006, Mitchell raised the program to new heights and has been considered one of the most talented scorers in the A-10 and throughout the country ever since. She currently ranks second in the conference in points per game (15.7) and made field goals (707), third in made free throws (440), fifth in rebounds (671), and sixth in field goal percentage (51.8) and free throw percentage (84.5). She has also been the leading scorer for her team in 14 games this season.
Mitchell is a three-time Atlantic 10 All-Conference selection and just the fifth player in program history to be named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference second team twice in her career.
She has been a crucial contributor to the Bonnies’ past four winning seasons, during which she became second in the program’s history with an impressive 1,878 points. Mitchell also led her team to postseason competition for the first time last year, advancing to the third round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.
The ceremony is scheduled to occur during halftime of the SBU men’s basketball game at 7 p.m. after Mitchell and the Bonnies face off with Richmond at 4:45 p.m. today at home.
Kara Deyermenjian can be reached at [email protected].
