By: Jeremy Goode
PHILADELPHIA - What are those magic college basketball words? Survive and advance?
It might be early in the season, but the St. Joseph’s University women’s basketball team will gladly apply this saying in their 57-55 win at Hagan Arena on Sat., Nov. 29, as the Hawks improve to 6-1 after holding on in a back-and-forth game against the Dragons.
Even though St. Joe’s trailed at the end of the first three quarters, they bridged the gap from their 10-point deficit after the first quarter, trailed by four at halftime, and by only one heading into the fourth. They outscored Drexel by three in the final 10 minutes, enough to give them a two-point win against the city rival.
“Things were looking uncharacteristically dismal for our team, and then we came back and got it to striking distance at the halftime,” St. Joe’s head coach Cindy Griffin said. “And then the third and fourth quarter showed a lot of resilience, relentlessness, and togetherness, and I’m really proud of the way we responded.”
Game Highlights
St. Joe’s has had Drexel’s number lately. Going into the game, the Hawks were holding onto a three-game win streak against the Dragons. The two schools are separated by only four miles.
Drexel was motivated to snap St. Joe’s three-game winning streak against the Dragons, and they remembered their own previous run of success against the Hawks. Even though their last win against St. Joe’s occurred in 2021, that win had capped off a five-year Drexel win streak of their own.
Both teams also had not played for a few days. St. Joe’s last game before Drexel was the Monday prior. Drexel’s was two days earlier, on Sat., Nov. 22. St. Joe’s was coming off a commanding win on the road against Penn, while Drexel was trying to get back on track after falling to NJIT.
Baker noted that her other teams contribute as well, even in ways that the box score cannot reveal.
The Hawks began to find their groove after the initial first quarter shock, as they shot 53 percent from the field. They inched closer after the third, making another seven field goals as they had in the second quarter. In the fourth, they turned to defense, holding Drexel to 10 points.
The difference in the fourth quarter, according to Aleah Snead: “wanted it more,” Snead said. “We knew it was a close game, we got it to a close game… hustle plays, getting rebounds, getting offensive rebounds with our size, when our shot may have not been falling.”
Snead in fact grabbed an offensive rebound with five seconds left, leading to Rhian Stokes making two free throws, making it a 57-53 game and practically out of reach.
The Thanksgiving break allowed for a pause in the schedule.
That could have been St. Joe’s excuse after the way they started the game against Drexel, down by 10 after the first quarter and only scoring six points in that frame.
St. Joe’s defended hard throughout the game; allowing just 55 points suggests that. But Drexel’s Amaris Baker and Laine McGurk were a handful. Both played the entire game and combined for 42 of Drexel’s 55 points scored total, including 43.8 percent shooting from the field and 57.5 percent from beyond the arc on heavy volume.
“We just work so hard in the offseason. Our chemistry just continues to build each single day,” Baker said. “It’s always nice having a teammate that is just as aggressive as you and works their butt off.”
While Gabby Casey has led the team in scoring and did her job against Drexel by scoring a team high 16 points, she is pleased to see how the rest of the starters have embraced their scoring potential as well. Stokes scored 14, while Faith Stinson and Snead added 11 each.
“We have everyone on the floor who can score, so that’s really a nice relief,” Casey said. “We are just confident in each other and able to play team basketball, and I think that really helps and gets us other looks for other guys.”
Drexel's Amy Mallon and Amaris Baker on Falling Short at St. Joe's
Gabby Casey, Cindy Griffin, and Aleah Snead on Rallying Late Against Drexel
Amy Mallon on Improving Each Game with a Newer Team
Griffin subbed in three players during the game but really relied on her starters to figure out how to get past Drexel. Jill Jekot and Snead tallied 37 minutes. Casey put in 36, Stokes 35, and Stinson 23. The Hawks starters combined for 55 points, as Cecelia Kay scored the only bench points for the Hawks.
For Drexel, this game represented another strong out-of-conference team to check off as providing good competition for the Dragons. These games and outcomes, according to head coach Amy Mallon, are correctable and should help the Dragons get better as they enter league play in the CAA.
“Obviously, it’s not the result that we wanted, but I also think the process to get here really locked in and [we] learned that we have the capability of doing things that we need to do to win games,” Mallon said.
St. Joe’s survived a 40-minute scare against Drexel, and currently sit at 6-2 after falling to Atlantic 10 rival Rhode Island 59-52 on Wed., Dec. 3. They look to build off of their perseverance against Drexel as the Hawks play for the Big 5 championship on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. against Villanova.
Kaylie Griffin on Starting the Big 5 Women's Essential Drive
In addition to Kaylie Griffin playing her fifth year at St. Joe's as a grad student, she also started the Big 5 Women's Essential Drive, where fans have brought unused hygiene and makeup products over the past few weeks during the Big 5 tournament games, and can do so at the Big 5 Championship triple header on Sun., Dec. 7 at Villanova University's Finneran Pavilion.
Other schools in Philadelphia are also participating, including several student athletes from Drexel, such as Grace O'Neill, Deja Evans, Baker, and McGurk.
Kaylie Griffin on the Big 5 Women's Essential Drive
The drive supports Face to Face and Women Against Abuse.
For, Griffin, it felt like a no-brainer.
"It stemmed from my high school drive, and I just thought, now that I'm a grad student, I don't have any classes anymore I needed something to fill my time and I thought I could put my time to good use," Kaylie Griffin said. "Using my platform is really important to be able to use my privilege and my outreach at St. Joe's to give back to people, especially at this time."
For more information, click the image below or visit big5womensessensialdrive.org.
