City of Basketball Love

Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)
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PHILADELPHIA >> Saint Joseph’s had some stops to make.

With a spot in next Sunday’s Big 5 Classic title game at stake, visiting Drexel had the host Hawks on their heels early. St. Joe’s kept chipping away, a run here and a push there, until with a few minutes left, it had become the kind of game the hosts wanted: one its defense would be able to win.

The Hawks’ late defensive effort was enough to survive the Dragons 57-55 in a vintage Big 5 game Saturday at Hagan Arena.

“We talked about how we were doing great defensively but we needed to finish what we started,” Hawks coach Cindy Griffin said. “That was getting those 50-50 balls and creating those other opportunities for us on the offensive end. 

“We knew possessions were going to be limited.”

St. Joe’s held Drexel without a field goal over the final 3:20 of play, the Dragons’ only points in that span coming on a pair of free throws. The Hawks’ defense was opportunistic late as well, creating three turnovers after Drexel’s Amaris Baker had tied the game 53-53 to allow St. Joe’s to regain and hold the lead to set up a Big 5 title match against Villanova.

Gabby Casey led four Hawks scorers in double figures, the Lansdale Catholic alum shaking off a slow shooting start to finish with 16 points and three assists. Rhian Stokes added 14 points, seven coming in the third quarter while Aleah Snead and Faith Stinson each scored 11 with Stinson getting the go-ahead hoop and Snead having another all-around high impact game on both ends.

“These games mean a lot, especially because I’m from Philadelphia and grew up going to games like this,” Snead said. “This game meant a lot to me and I’m excited I get the opportunity to do it at Hawk Hill with St. Joe’s and my teammates.”

The Hawks needed all of that balance and the defensive stops to overcome a big afternoon by Baker, the Cardinal O’Hara product scoring a game-high 22, and junior Laine McGurk continued her breakout season with 20 points for the Dragons. Drexel dropped its third in a row after winning four straight to open the season.

“Today’s game is understanding when we’re locked in and when we’re dialed in, then we do the things defensively we need to do,” Drexel coach Amy Mallon said. “Then the possessions where we didn’t take care of things we needed to, we will learn and we will get better. That’s what our teams do and I have no doubt that with Amaris and Grace (O’Neill) and our seniors leading the way, they know how important those things are and they will learn from them.”

Stinson scored the first points of the game after a couple empty possessions for both teams but that would be a rare highlight offensively for the Hawks in the first 10 minutes. St. Joe’s shot just 3-of-16 from the floor in the first quarter and 0-of-7 from three as Drexel’s defense crammed the paint in a 10 minutes that Griffin described as “uncharacteristically dismal for our team.”

St. Joe's junior Gabby Casey tallied 16 points as four Hawks reached double-digit scoring figures and overcame a slow start to down Drexel 57-55 to secure a spot in the Big 5 Classic title game. (CoBL Photo/Mark Jordan)

Baker led Drexel on a 10-2 finish to the first for a 16-6 lead, the when the Hawks used an 8-0 run late in the second to get within 23-22, it was McGurk quelling the movement with back-to-back threes. McGurk’s 20 points were her most since the season-opener when she had 33 against Pitt and the West Chester Rustin alum played aggressive and controlled on Saturday.

“We worked so hard in the offseason and our chemistry just continues to build each and every day,” Baker said of her and McGurk’s dynamic. “It’s always nice having a teammate who is just as aggressive as you and works their butt off, so that’s great. But we also have five people on the court who can do that as well and are doing the work playing their roles.”

The Hawks trailed 29-25 at the half but started the third strong and took their first lead since the opening basket on a Stinson triple with 7:43 left in the frame. From there, the teams would spend the quarter trading mini-runs, St. Joe’s  going in front 44-38 but Drexel responded with a 7-0 answer capped by Mariah Watkins turning a steal into a layup for a 45-44 edge going to the final 10 minutes.

A jumper from the free throw line by Drexel’s Deja Evans spotted the Dragons a 51-48 lead with 7:06 remaining in the game. Stinson answered by getting fouled going to the rim and knocking down both free throws before the Hawks survived two looks by Drexel on the ensuing possession.

Down one, Snead got the ball deep in the lane and knew exactly where she wanted to go with it. Instead of forcing up what would have been a tough shot, the Penn Charter alum kicked to the corner and to a wide-open Jill Jekot, who knocked down the go-ahead three for her only make of the game.

“I know someone’s going to be in the corner for me in relief when they come double, so I knew she was going to be there or someone was going to be there,” Snead said. “Kudos to Jill for knocking that shot down.”

Interestingly, both teams had six players score on Saturday but where the majority of Drexel’s scoring came from Baker and McGurk, St. Joe’s was able to spread it out. After Griffin challenged and won an out-of-bounds call to gain possession under the basket, the Hawks ran a play for Stinson with the transfer forward converting for a 55-53 lead with 2:02 on the clock.

The Hawks assisted 12 of their 21 makes and while they didn’t have a single fastbreak point, compared to 17 for Drexel, they were able to make up in the second-chance department 14-5 and out-rebounded the Dragons 37-30 overall and 13-9 on the offensive glass.

“Everyone on the floor can score, so it’s a huge relief,” Casey said. “We are confident in each other and we’re able to play team basketball so I think that really helps and gets us open looks.”

Saturday capped a 10-day road swing for the Dragons, who have only played two home games total so far this season. That will change this week when they host American on Wednesday before facing Temple in the second game of the Big 5 Classic tripleheader on Nov. 7 at Villanova’s Finneran Pavilion.

“One thing we always talk about is one percent,” Baker said. “Every day, getting better one percent and that’s from believing, focusing and just playing free, trusting the process and pivoting, all those other aspects we have as a team so once we do that, we’re good.”

St. Joe’s, which won an outright Big 5 title in 2023-24 before the introduction of the Big 5 Classic, will face Villanova next Sunday in the title game. Prior to that, the Hawks will open A-10 play at home Wednesday against a 6-2 Rhode Island team that upset then No. 22 NC State on Nov. 23.

“We’ve got to focus on us,” Griffin said. “We have to focus on us; how we can continue to grow and get better as a team. The buy-in and the culture has been great and I’m just really proud of the way this team is playing together and for each other.”