CINCINNATI– The Xavier women’s basketball team lost a nail-bitter to Saint Joseph’s 70-67, Saturday at Cintas Center. Junior Jessica Pachko had a career-high 19 points and tied a career-high with 15 rebounds.
Xavier drops to 3-14 for the season and 0-4 in the Atlantic 10. Saint Joseph’s is now 13-5 and 3-1 in conference play.
Pachko collected her seventh double-double for the season, her third in four games, with 19 points and 15 rebounds. Senior Tyeasha Moss added 16 points on her 7-of-19 shooting and had a team-high four assists. Junior Amber Gray was the third player to score in double figures for the Musketeers with 14 points.
The Musketeers led in several statistical categories as they out-rebounded Saint Joseph’s, 39-23, had more assists (14-12) and outscored SJU in the paint 36-24. The Hawks shot 48.2 percent from the field to XU’s 46.4 percent.
The Musketeers clawed their way back from a 10-point deficit in the second half to pull within two points, 60-58, with 4:45 remaining. XU forced SJU to take several unwanted shots which led to quick transition points.
XU was down 68-62 with 33 seconds left to play when Pachko made a quick layup. The Musketeers were able to force a turnover on the inbound pass and Pachko made her second field goal in 10 seconds, getting fouled in the process and was able to finish the three point play.
After the Hawks made two free throws, the Musketeers were left with seven seconds for one last play. Sophomore Shatyra Hawkes got the ball on the right wing and fired a desperation three. The shot fell short as the final buzzer sounded.
Saint Joseph’s held a slim lead over Xavier at half, 30-27. Gray led XU at halftime with nine points off of 4-of-5 shooting from the field.
The Musketeers were able to pull out to a nine-point lead midway through the first half thanks to a pair of open jump shots from Gray and a baseline jumper from sophomore Ashley Wanninger. However, the Hawks came storming back and were able to regain the lead with 2:47 left in the half. Saint Joseph’s didn’t allow a Xavier field goal for over five minutes during its 10-0 run.
XU shot 50 percent from the field (12-of-24) in the first half, while SJU shot 43.3 percent (13-of-30). Xavier also outrebounded Saint Joseph’s 17-13 in the first half, including five offensive boards.
Senior Michelle Baker had a team-high 15 points for the Hawks in 34 minutes.
Up next for Xavier is Temple on Tuesday, January 24 at Cintas Center at 7:00 p.m. Stay tuned for the latest news and update of women’s basketball on GoXavier.com.
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