By Aaron M Smith
BROOKLYN, NY – It was the worst of halves, it was the best of halves for the St. Joseph’s women’s basketball team. The Hawks overcame an early 10 point deficit and poor shooting to defeat the Fordham Rams, 47-46 and capture the 2012-13 Atlantic 10 conference championship.
As the game began, nerves appeared to take center stage early. Players on both sides missed shots early, until Abigail Corning got the scoring started for Fordham when she received an Arielle Collins pass off the wing, curled off a screen set by Collins, pulling up for the foul line jumper and a 2-0 lead.
After a Chatilla van Grinsven miss, Collins found Marah Strickland up the floor who pulled up in transition for the three pointer, 5-0.
Another Hawks miss was followed by Corning feathering an entry pass to Samantha Clark for the easy bucket, 7-0 Rams.
Strickland hit another three from the top of the key for a 10-0 lead and Coach Cindy Griffin called timeout to settler her troops down.
“It was a combination of myself, Tash, Chat, and basically everyone said we need to step it up”, Ashley Prim explained. “We are not going to leave here with any regrets and we have to do it what it to win because we had to leave it all on the floor. We weren’t going to leave this gym without a win.”
It wasn’t until the 14:17 mark of the first half that St. Joseph’s finally put points on the board. A pair of free throws by Ashley Prim snapped the Rams’ 12-0 run. On the ensuing possession, the 5’7” guard drilled a jumper to cut the lead to 12-4.
The teams exchanged baskets until Natasha Cloud found Chatilla van Grinsven in the post with an entry pass for the drop step and easy lay-in, 16-10. For the Helmond, Netherlands native it was the first points in the game after scoring 31 in the teams’ regular season meeting.
A triple from the wing by Arielle Collins pushed Fordham’s lead back to 8, 20-12.
Ilze Gotfrida caught a lob pass from Natasha Cloud over the top of the Ram’s defense for the short jumper to cut the lead to 24-16 as the teams headed to the locker room.
St. Joseph’s shot just 21.4% from the field in the first half.
The second half started and it was obvious from the first whistle that it was going to be a different half for the Hawks. Junior guard, Erin Shields found Ashley Robinson underneath for the easy two and the lead was suddenly 24-18.
Shields held scoreless in the first half, hit a short jumper on the next possession to bring St. Joe’s within four, 24-20.
“We knew Erin needed to get shots and we knew that they were going to focus on her, along with a couple of other kids, “ Coach Cindy Griffin explained. “We did go to her early in the second just to get her some more touches and she made things happen. That big three there late was huge and she is a terrific player. We should get her the ball more.”
Abigail Corning drilled a 15 footer to push the Fordham lead back to six, 26-20.
Most Outstanding Player Natasha Cloud went on a personal 4-0 run capped by a reverse lay-up and suddenly St. Joseph’s was within one, 30-29.
“Coach and team as well, has been harping on me to be more aggressive as a scorer this year because it has never been my go to, I have been more of a defensive player,” Cloud admitted. “The team, coach, everyone just kept telling me to shoot the ball because Rooney was so far off me – she was baiting me to shoot.”
Coach Stephanie Gaitley quickly called timeout to stop the momentum, but a Cloud block, followed by a van Grinsven lay-up and the Hawks had their first lead of the game, 31-30.
The pace became frenetic as it was obvious how much this game meant to both sides.
A Mireia Vila trifecta from the top of the key pushed the Hawks to lead to four, only to have Erin Rooney respond with a jumper to cut the lead back to two, 34-32.
Collins tied the game with an off balanced lay-up but Cloud quickly countered from a foul line jumper, 36-34.
After teams exchanged free throws, Ashley Prim hit a triple from the wing that sat on the rim for several seconds, making every heart in the Barclays Center stop and sending the Hawks faithful into a frenzy, 40-39.
Yet if anyone thought that Fordham would go quietly into the night, they were sadly mistaken. Marah Strickland countered with a three ball of her own to bring the Rams within a score, 40-39.
Corning followed up a Hawks turnover with another triple and putting the Rams ahead 42-40.
Shields responded with a three to put Saint Joseph’s back in front, 43-42.
A Gotfrida jumper was matched by another triple from Corning, and the score was tied at 45.
A pair of free throws by van Grinsven gave the Hawks a 47-45 lead with 1:47 to play.
Erin Rooney was fouled in the act of shooting an went the free throw line with a chance to tie.
Hit the first free throw, 47-46.
St. Joe’s called timeout in an attempt to freeze the redshirt junior and it worked. The Christchurch, New Zealand native missed the next free throw, but the ball caromed off van Grinsven out of bounds. Rams’ ball with 30 seconds remaining.
After a Fordham timeout, the Rams held the ball for the last shot. However Samantha Clark was whistled for a controversial offensive foul with 6 seconds remaining as the freshman appeared to push off while fighting for position in the post.
“It is a tough situation especially when you are a veteran coach because I have never lost a game in a situation like this,” Coach Gaitely admitted. “I always believe it should be the kids that should determine the outcome and that’s what is so disappointing is that you know – let the kids determine the outcome. Again I have to look at the call again it just the frustrating thing for me is that I had been arguing about the other end, them doing the same thing. So for it to go against you on the last play for a championship and the right to go to the NCAA tournament – it was hard to say because I haven’t see the film.”
The Rams fouled van Grinsven, who missed both free throws attempts. Strickland’s desperate heave fell way short and the Saint Joseph’s bench spilled onto the floor in celebration.
For St. Joe’s it is the third Atlantic 10 conference tournament championship in the program’s history and the first since 1999.
Marah Strickland led all scorers with 16 points while Corning contributed 12 for the Rams.
Natasha Cloud was the only St. Joe’s player in double figures with 15, while van Grinsven contributed 8 points and 10 rebounds.
Attendance for the game was 4,436 and was the largest for an Atlantic 10 women’s championship game in the history of the conference.
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