St. Joe's women to face Colonials
CINCINNATI - It wouldn't be an Atlantic Ten women's basketball tournament unless St. Joseph's and George Washington hooked up somewhere along the bracket.
Contact staff writer Mel Greenberg at 215-854-5725 or mgreenberg@phillynews.com.
The Hawks and Colonials have a semifinals date today (CSTV, noon) at the Cintas Center after St. Joseph's, seeded fifth, upset No. 4 Charlotte, 76-64, in a quarterfinal at Xavier yesterday.
The two teams met last year in a semifinal round in which the Colonials prevailed, 53-51.
George Washington, the top seed and No. 8 in the Associated Press national poll, advanced with a 61-45 victory over No. 9 Dayton. The Colonials (26-2) have won 19 straight games, including an 87-60 victory over St. Joseph's in Washington last weekend.
Meanwhile, second-seeded Temple made sure it wasn't going to become an upset victim here by rolling, 84-60, over No. 10 St. Bonaventure. The Owls earned a place in today's second semifinal game (CSTV, 2:30 p.m.).
Temple coach Dawn Staley, in her seventh season, picked up her 150th career win. She has just 65 losses.
"I thought we came out ready to go,'' Staley said. "We were just champing at the bit to play somebody other then ourselves after three great days of practice.''
Temple (24-6) will meet No. 3 Xavier, which was extended until the final seconds by No. 11 St. Louis, but won, 64-63.
The Owls' triumph over the Bonnies (16-15) kept hopes for another NCAA tournament appearance alive.
The spark for St. Joseph's (18-12) came from senior Ayahna Cornish, who scored 30 points and fueled a rally from a 23-11 deficit with 5 minutes, 42 seconds left in the first half.
Contact staff writer Mel Greenberg at 215-854-5725 or mgreenberg@phillynews.com.
