NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The strong start to the season continues rolling, Saint Joseph's women's basketball knocking off SEC foe Vanderbilt 67-59 on the road on Sunday afternoon inside Memorial Gymnasium.
 
The Hawks (4-0) disrupted the perfect start to the Commodore season, who fall to 5-1 on the year. The win was the first over an SEC foe since knocking off Georgia in the NCAA Tournament in the 2013-14 season.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Mackenzie Smith got the offense started for the Hawks, wide open from deep on the first possession to give the Hawks the early lead. After two-straight scores from Vanderbilt, Katie Jekot responded with a triple of her own to regain the advantage.
• Smith scored the next five points for the Hawks, including her second three of the quarter to give the Hawks an 11-8 advantage. The trey would jumpstart a 9-2 spurt for the Hawks after Olivia Mullins bursted past her defender and finished at the rim to give the Hawks the 17-10 lead.
• Saint Joseph's took a 19-14 advantage heading into the second quarter after Laura Ziegler collected the offensive rebound to score her sixth point in the first quarter.
• With the Commodores cutting the deficit to 21-20 early in the second, Talya Brugler started a takeover in the second with a bucket to end the Vandy run. Brugler followed suit on the next possession, again finding space on the low block and finishing in traffic.
• Brugler went from scorer to provider, playing a part in all seven points in a 7-0 run after finding Julia Nyström for a second-chance opportunity, the Swede burying from distance to give the Hawks the largest lead of the game at 28-20.
• The Commodores scored 10 of the next 14 points, cutting the deficit to 32-30 entering the halftime break.
• The Hawks made back-to-back baskets to open the scoring in the third to extend the lead back to six, but the hosts slowly made their way back into the game.
• A 10-3 Commodore run gave Vanderbilt its first lead since the opening minutes at 40-39, but Jekot responded on the other end with a basket of her own. After another Vanderbilt basket, Jekot once again found the bottom of the net after bullying her defender before laying it in for an easy two. Jekot scored her seventh-straight point for the Hawks after knocking down an attempt to distance to assist or score on six of the seven made field goals in the quarter.
• Ziegler finished at the basket with six seconds remaining to give the Hawks a 49-44 advantage after three quarters.
• Entering the final frame, the Hawks were able to push the advantage to the highest mark of the contest, leading 56-46 after a triple from Nyström.
• With under a minute remaining, Vanderbilt hit just its second three of the game to cut the deficit to three points. The Hawks were able to break the press on the ensuing possession, Jekot finding an easy layup to push the lead back to two possessions.
• Strong defense and efficiency from the line were able to keep the Commodores at bay, Mullins scoring with a second remaining to put the game out of reach at 67-59 as the Hawks grabbed the upset on the road to remain unbeaten.

 
 
GAME NOTES

• Smith and Ziegler combined for 14 of the 19 points in the first quarter, the Hawks nearly matching the highest scoring opening quarter of the season (20 vs. Yale).
• Brugler filled the stat sheet in the first half, grabbing six points, seven rebounds and three assists in the opening 20 minutes. The sophomore finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
• Jekot finished with a game-high 17 points on 6-9 shooting, adding five assists and three rebounds. Jekot sits 27 points from 1,000 career points on Hawk Hill, 33 assists from breaking into the top 10 in school history.
• Ziegler added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Hawks, grabbing two assists and two blocks.
• Smith continues her string of double figure performances to start the season, ending with 12 points. 
• The Hawks took the halftime lead for the fourth straight time to start the season, despite being outshot 46% to 33% from Vandy. Saint Joseph's shot a season-low 23-58 (39.7%) from the field but countered it with a +17 rebound margin (43-26).
• Both teams combined 14-14 from the line in the first half. SJU finished 14-16 (87.5%) from the line, Vanderbilt 9-10 (90.0%).
• The Hawks led for 38:17 of the contest.
• The win was the first against an SEC and a Power 5 foe since March 23, 2014, when the Hawks defeated Georgia in the NCAA Tournament, 67-57.
• The Hawks are now 2-3 all time against the Commodores, grabbing the first win since the series opener on March 15, 1989.

UP NEXT

• The Hawks return to Hagan Arena for the second Big 5 matchup of the season, taking on Temple in a midweek contest on Wednesday, November 23. Tip is slated for 5 p.m. on ESPN+.