GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Posting its best offensive performance of the season, the Saint Joseph’s women’s basketball team downed Savannah State, 88-41, in the consolation game of the Gator Holiday Classic on Friday afternoon at the O’Connell Center. The Hawks, who had 11 of 12 players score on the day, were led by redshirt senior forward Chatilla van Grinsven’s (Helmond, Netherlands/Dr. Kippenberg College) 20 points.
Saint Joseph’s (6-4) jumped out to an early 12-4 lead on a three-pointer by redshirt sophomore Natasha Cloud(Broomall, Pa./Cardinal O’Hara) at 14:24, but Savannah State rallied to cut the deficit to two, 12-10.
From there, Saint Joseph’s took full control. Behind a 26-4 run that spanned more than seven minutes, the Hawks opened up a 38-14 lead on a three-pointer by senior Mireia Vila (Cabrera De Mar, Spain/Escola De Santa Anna) at 2:45. Saint Joseph’s defense limited the Tigers to just 2-of-12 from the floor during that stretch and caused five turnovers, while the Hawks hit 10-of-12 from the field over that span.
Savannah State (5-8) would score the final five points of the half as SJU took a 38-19 lead into the second half.
In the second half, Saint Joseph’s gained momentum from the start, outscoring the Tigers 24-8 over the first eight minutes. The Hawks would go on to outscore Savannah State 50-22 as they capped the two-day Gator Holiday Classic with the second most points in tournament history (172).
For the game, the Hawks shot 57.6 percent from the field (34-of-59), including 10-of-14 from behind the arc and at the foul line (71.4 percent). At the other end, the Tigers were limited to just 33.3 percent from the floor (18-of-54) and turned the ball over 16 times.
Individually, van Grinsven added six rebounds and three blocked shots as she finished the day 9-of-11 from the field and 2-of-2 from the foul line. Redshirt junior Kelsey Berger (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor) came off the bench to score 12 points, while Cloud finished with 11 points and six rebounds. Junior guard Kasie Parker (Oviedo, Fla./Lake Howell) was the fourth Hawk in double figures, scoring a season-high 10 points.
Erin Hogue had a team-high 16 points for Savannah State as the Tigers played without their leading scorer, Ezinne Kalu.
The Hawks return to action December 28 as they host the Hawk Classic. Saint Joseph’s will face Fairfield at 2 p.m., while UMBC and Wagner will play the first game at noon.
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