Despite St. Joseph’s ending the regular season with consecutive losses, it did not waver against Duquesne in the second round of the Atlantic 10 tournament.
The Hawks built a 14-point first-quarter lead on Thursday and, after seeing that lead whittled to six at halftime, turned up their defense to hold the Dukes scoreless for the first 4 minutes, 43 seconds of the third quarter.
That defense allowed St. Joe’s to push its lead back to double figures to secure a 66-45 win over Duquesne (12-19, 4-14) and earn a spot in the A-10 quarterfinals.
The Hawks (20-10, 10-8) will face fourth-seeded Davidson in the quarterfinals on Friday (1:30 p.m., USA app).
Statistical leaders
Guard Gabby Casey missed the Hawks’ regular-season finale with an ankle injury but returned to the lineup on Thursday. She showed no signs of rust and finished with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Guard Jill Jekot delivered a strong all-around performance with nine points and a team-high 11 rebounds. Forward Faith Stinson and guard Aleah Snead each chipped in 10 points.
The Hawks were red-hot from downtown, shooting 10-for-23 on three-pointers, which is the first time they made double-digit threes since Jan. 24 against Duquesne. St. Joe’s held the Dukes to 30.8% shooting from the field and forced 20 turnovers.
What we saw
St. Joe’s jumped out to an 8-2 lead behind a pair of three-pointers from Casey and Jekot. The Dukes tried to battle back, but the Hawks kept the offensive intensity high. Casey and Snead hit another pair of threes to spearhead a 10-0 run midway through the first quarter.
The Hawks made five three-pointers in the first five minutes and held a 21-7 lead. However, their luck from downtown faded, which allowed Duquesne to hang around. The Dukes entered the second quarter trailing, 25-14. They used a 6-0 run in the final two minutes of the first half to head to the locker room down, 34-28.
Defense dominated the first half of the third quarter as both teams struggled to make shots. Amid Duquesne’s drought, St. Joe’s connected on five of its last seven shots in the third quarter.
The Hawks entered the fourth quarter with a 53-35 advantage and never allowed the Dukes to mount a real comeback as they extended their lead to as many as 23 points.
Game-changing play
St. Joe’s led, 43-31, with over four minutes remaining in the third quarter and was looking to put the game out of reach. Jekot stepped up to deliver the basket the Hawks were looking for with a three-pointer that pushed their lead to 15 with 3:33 left in the period.
Then with 18 seconds left in the third, Casey dealt the Dukes’ comeback hopes another blow when she got free for a three and nailed it to give the Hawks an 18-point advantage, their largest of the game to that point.
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