Women's Hoops Guru

(Guru's note: Updating to note that St. Joe can only tie for Big Five title thanks to a reader who caught the comment.
A print publication version of St. Joseph's Upset of Auburn to win its own tournament exists at Philly.com in the Inquirer sports section area. The following alternative version also provides more detail of the suspensful finish.)

By Mel Greenberg

PHILADELPHIA -Three decades ago this week, Texas freshman Nell Fortner and the rest of her Longhorn teammates paid a visit to St. Joseph's and left with a signature 89-85 victory at the expense of the No.8 Hawks.

Texas, then ranked No. 16, was on the way to becoming a national power under Hall of Famer Jody Conradt.

Fortner went on the become nationally prominent, herself, setting the stage for Purdue's 1999 NCAA title a year earlier leading the Boilermakers. She became the USA Basketball coach of the second-straight gold medalists in 2000 at the Sydney Games. The native of Jackson, Miss., was an in-studio analyst for several years for ESPN's Women's Final Four coverage and also coached the WNBA's Indiana Fever.

On Saturday, the Hawks finally got one back 30 years later on Fortner by upsetting No. 15 Auburn, 71-69, in a wild finish against the Tigers (12-2) she now coaches. The triumph enabled St. Joseph's (7-6) to win its own tournament for the first time since the 2001-02 season.

Freshman center Sarah Acker (16 points, eight rebounds), and tournament MVP Amy Wold (17 points) helped cancel a sensational effort by Auburn's DeWanna Bonner, who had 30 points and a career-high 19 rebounds.

The win occurred after narrow losses to nationally-ranked Rutgers and Wyoming earlier this season.

The Hawks certainly lived up to their mantra of "never die," but they prevailed more in the form of a cat with several lives and a Villanova Wildcat with gifted three-point shooting ability.

St. Joseph's, paced by Wold's 5-for-8, connected on 10-of-15 attempted treys.

But the game was never over until time expired even though twice in the second half, the Hawks appeared to have the game well under control.

In the first half, led by Wold, the Hawks rode a 5-of-9 effort on three-point attempts to forge a 41-29 lead at intermission.

The differential widened to 16 points at 60-44 with 9:59 left in the game. The Hawks then missed a few easy shots, while Auburn got hot and suddenly it was a cliffhanger at 60-59 before Acker finally stopped the run. She scored on the inside with 4:41 left.

Bonner’s two foul shots kept things tight until a three-pointer by McDade created some breathing space for the Hawks.

The lead seemed safe at 70-63 with 1:11 left but a pair of treys by Bonner and Smalley around a foul shot by Alexis Johnson made it 71-69 with 15 seconds left.

Timisha Gomez missed the front end of a bonus situation from the line and Wold did likewise after getting the offensive rebound.

Auburn went length of the court with a chance to tie but Alli Smalley lost the ball off her foot with two seconds left. However, then Wold was called for five seconds on the inbound possession. Sherell Hobbs’ three-point attempt then went wide as the game ended.

St. Joseph's, which will host the Atlantic Ten tournament in March, had entered its event with a four-game losing streak.

"Winning this tournament is hopefully the beginning of winning another tournament on this home floor so we have that to look forward to once the Atlantic Ten starts,'' St. Joseph's coach Cindy Griffn said.

(Correcting) -- Despite the loss to Villanova, the Hawks could still get a piece of the title through a 3-1 record -- the key contest being at three-time defending champion Temple on Jan. 30. They'll also host the Owls in another regular season game that will count only in the Atlantic Ten standings.

"We told this one (Wold) we have to pretend every game is a tournament, because two out of three (this season), she's been the MVP,'' Griffin said.

"We're playing kids that are productive in practice and that is what has to happen until we get into a flow. Hopefully, this starts our flow,'' she added.

"We would like to get back to the (NCAA) tournament,'' said Griffin, who is still seeking her first appearance as coach after returning to her alma matter in the spring of 2001.

"This is a good game to kind of make the nation, the AP, and even the selection committee that this team is for real.''

Helping the Hawks come together is forward Brittany Ford, who had eight points before fouling out in her third game back since minor knee surgery in the offseason.

"We're very deep in the postand I think it helps our starters and team develop. Our frontcourt right now -- the ones that are playing -- are freshmen and sophomores. The experience is coming game-by-game and practice-by-practice,"Griffin said.

St. Joseph's had beaten higher-ranked teams bvefore, most recently then-No. 8 George Washington in March in the Atlantic Ten tournament semifinals.

Biut Saturday's win is somewhat different than others in the Hawks' history of success.

Most previous wins against ranked squads were against annual rivals of the past and present such as Montclair State, Penn State, Rutgers, Temple, and George Washington.

But Saturday's was a rarity outside the group, although Texas and Virginia have been victimized as ranked teams by the Hawks.

A win of similar nature to Saturday dates way back to Dec. 27, 1984. when St. Joe's and a feisty freshman named Debbie Black upset No. 15 Western Kentucky, 93-90, in overtime in La Salle's tournament.that the Hawks eventually won by beating C. Vivian Stringer's second Iowa team.

-- Mel