Women's hoops knock out Stetson, 61-47 :: JU advances to face winner of Gardner-Webb/Campbell matchup

March 5, 2008

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - After dropping three of its final four games, the JU women's basketball team was in search of the form that made them the preseason favorite to win the General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament.

The Dolphins regained their form and confidence on Wednesday, knocking out No. 7 seed Stetson in the quarterfinals, 61-47, at Allen Arena.

JU (22-8) got a team-high 12 points from Ashley Williams and Regina Omoite, with Virginia Gregoire adding 10 points.

The Dolphins hit only one 3-pointer, but held the Hatters to 0-for-7 from behind the arc, a big swing from Stetson's win at home on Saturday to end the regular season.

"We're happy and excited about getting the win and advancing in the tournament," said JU head coach Jill Dunn. "Our defense really picked up in the second half. We did a good job with our press, creating some turnovers and getting easy baskets in transition.

"We know this just the first step toward reaching our goal. We still have a lot of work ahead of us."

After JU scored the first basket of the second half, the Hatters scored four straight to take their first lead of the game, 29-28, on a layup by Tierra Brown just two minutes into the second half.

JU battled back to tie the game at 33 and then took control of the game with a 15-2 run, with Gregoire scoring six points during the run to give the Dolphins a 48-35 lead with just over 10 minutes left in the game.

The Dolphins never let the Hatters back in the game to finish off avenging the loss in the regular season finale at Stetson on Saturday.

Ayehsa Barkley was the only Hatter to finish in double figures, scoring a game-high 20 points.

In a back-and-forth first half that both teams put together significant runs, JU's Omoite hit a 3-pointer with 25 seconds left that sent the Dolphins into the locker room with a 26-25 lead at the midway point.

The Dolphins will take Thursday off to prepare for their semifinal matchup against either Gardner-Webb or Campbell. Those two teams face off on Thursday at 1 p.m. EST, with JU's semifinal matchup set for Friday at 1 p.m.