Rams Close Regular Season at Saint Joe's

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The Rams head to Philadelphia this weekend, taking on Saint Joe's in a regular season finale that will decide whether or not the Rams receive a bye to the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Championship in Richmond, Va., this coming week.

SERIES HISTORY: Dating all the way back to 1972, the series history between the Rams and the Hawks has been devastatingly one-sided in favor of Saint Joe's; in 39 career meetings, the Rams are 4-35 against the Hawks.  But as of late, the Rams and Hawks have sparked what some would call a budding rivalry in the A-10.

During February of last season, the two teams played an overtime thriller in the Rose Hill Gym, a contest in which Marah Strickland scored 31 points and the Rams emerged victorious on Senior Day.  Less than a month later, the Rams and Hawks met again, this time on a much bigger stage, as Saint Joe's clipped Fordham by one in the Atlantic 10 Championship Game at the Barclays Center.

SCOUTING SAINT JOE'S: Predicted to finish second in the conference by the league's coaches prior to the start of the season, the Hawks have put together a solid 2013-14 campaign, entering Sunday's contest with a 21-7 mark overall, 10-5 in the Atlantic 10.

Offensively, the Hawks have been led by Erin Shields, a senior guard from Drexel Hill, Pa., who averages 15 points a game for Coach Griffin.  She leads the conference with nearly three three-pointers made per game and shoots over 40 percent from beyond the arc.

In addition to Shields, junior Natasha Cloud has been exceptional for the Hawks, leading the team and ranking second in the nation with just a touch under eight assists per game.  She also tops the team in rebounding pulling down nearly seven per outing.

As a team, Saint Joe's ranks fourth in the conference with a 43.3 percent field goal percentage from the floor while leading the nation in free throw shooting.  From the charity stripe, the Hawks are unconscious, converting on 81 percent of their tries.  In addition to the team leading the nation, Shields ranks fourth in the NCAA in that category, knocking down 74 of her 78 attempts on the season (94.9 percent).