Late shooting woes doom women's basketball in loss to Saint Joseph's
Tinara Moore reaches for the ball in a game against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on Dec. 21, 2015.
The Hawk Classic was shaping up to be just that, until one team went cold and fell apart in the final period.
The fourth quarter started tied at 61, and that’s when things went sour for Central Michigan women’s basketball team, and Saint Joseph’s took advantage.
The Chippewas went scoreless for the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, missing their first seven shots of the final period.
SJU (6-5) on the other hand, opened the quarter on a 7-0 run and outscored CMU 15-5 to defeat the Chippewas 76-66 in the championship game of the Hawk Classic on Tuesday at Hagan Arena.
Unlike their dominating performance in the final quarter of their 76-58 win over Rider in the first game of the tournament on Monday, cold shooting doomed the Chippewas against the Hawks.
CMU went 2-for-15 in the fourth quarter and turned the ball over four times after only committing five total turnovers during the first three quarters.
The Chippewas inability to score late handed the Hawks the victory in CMU’s final non-conference game of the season.
CMU finished their non-conference schedule 6-5, and will open Mid-American Conference play against Kent State. Tipoff is at 1 p.m. Saturday at McGuirk Arena.
It seemed as if the game would go down to the final possession as the third quarter provided exciting play and multiple scoring changes.
It was a back-and-forth affair as neither team was able to pull away. Both teams answered the other with crucial baskets to stay in the game. CMU’s Presley Hudson tied the game at 61 as time expired in the third quarter.
However, that was as close as CMU would come as SJU’s tandem of Ciara Andrews and Kathleen Fitzpatrick sealed the win for the Hawks. Andrews finished with a game-high 25 points and Fitzpatrick added 20.
SJU won the bench scoring battle 22-13. Amanda Fioravanti scored 14 points off of the bench for the Hawks. Saint Joseph also outrebounded CMU 45-43.
Things looked promising early on as CMU was able to get off to a quick start in the first quarter. After SJU scored the first basket of the game, the Chippewas went on a 9-0 run forcing the Hawks to take a timeout.
CMU led by as many as 10, but the Hawks battled back cutting the Chippewas lead to 21-15 at the end of the first quarter.
SJU regained the lead halfway through the second quarter, but a basket by sophomore Tinara Moore as time expired gave the Chippewas a 38-36 lead heading into halftime.
Hudson led CMU with 15 points and Turner scored 13. Both players were named to the Hawk Classic All-Tournament team. Freshman Reyna Frost had another solid performance with eight points and 11 rebounds.
