March 4, 2006

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - Senior All-American candidate Tara Boothe tied a career high with 36 points and pulled down 14 rebounds but it was not enough as the Xavier University women's basketball team fell 70-67 to Saint Joseph's in Atlantic 10 Tournament quarterfinal action in Philadelphia.

Boothe's 36 were also the most points scored by an individual in the history of the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

Junior guard Suntana Granderson was the other Musketeer in double-figures with 16 points. Boothe's 36 came on 16-of-26 shooting including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.

Xavier extended its 39-32 halftime lead to a 48-34 advantage with 17:20 left in regulation after Boothe connected on her third 3-pointer of the afternoon.

However, XU would go cold and failed to connect on a field goal for the next 5:10. That allowed Saint Joe's to take a 51-50 lead on a Maura McBryan 3-pointer at the 10:20 mark.

The Hawks capped off a 27-6 run and led 61-54 at the 8:10 mark after Timisha Gomez hit a pair of free throws.

XU would rally though regained the lead when Granderson converted on a driving lay-up, giving Xavier a 65-64 lead.

Saint Joe's scored the next four points though and held a 70-67 lead with six-seconds left, setting up a Granderson 33-footer that clanged off the side of the rim.

Xavier shot a solid 52 percent from the floor on Saturday and were a sizzling 59.3 percent (16-of-27) from the field in the first half. Xavier won the battle of the boards 28-26 and outscored the Hawks 42-to-28 in the paint.

Xavier got off to a sluggish start and trailed the Hawks 20-11 with 11:10 remaining in the first half. Hawk forward Faith Schutte helped Saint Joe's build its lead by scoring 10 consecutive points during the run.

Xavier would answer though when Boothe nailed the first of her two first-half 3-pointers to spark a 14-4 XU run. Candyce Bingham capped the run with a pair of free throws at the 5:40 mark to give Xavier a 25-24 lead, its first since the team led 10-8 with 15:20 to go.

Xavier extended the lead to seven points, 39-32, when the team ended the first stanza on a 12-5 run. Boothe scored the last eight points of the first session to give XU its seven-point cushion.