Saint Joseph's (6-0, 0-0 A-10) vs. Boston University (4-2, 0-0 Patriot League)
Thursday, December 1 | 7:00 p.m. | Hagan Arena | Philadelphia, Pa.
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Saint Joseph's: Roster | Schedule | Stats | Game Notes
Boston University: Roster | Schedule | Stats |
PHILADELPHIA - Saint Joseph's women's basketball puts its six-game winning streak on the line on Thursday evening, facing off with Boston University inside Hagan Arena. The Hawks will host its first ever Pride Night, with activities available in the concourses of the arena.
Saint Joseph's returns home after just the second road game of the season, cruising to a 79-56 win over North Florida. The Hawks posted a 23 point win, the largest margin of a season. SJU led by as much as 32 points in the win. St. Joe's never trailed throughout the game, leading for 39:04 minutes of the game. Nine of the 11 players that checked in scored at least six points in the game, all 11 playing at least eight minutes.
The Hawks went 11-21 (52.4%) from deep, the most threes made in a game since knocking down 12 against George Washington on January 24, 2021. Laura Ziegler led the way with 15 points and eight rebounds over the Ospreys. Olivia Mullins added nine points, a career-best five steals a tied career-high eight rebounds in the win. Mackenzie Smith failed to record double-digit points for the first time on the season, finishing with eight points. Katie Jekot was the only Hawk besides Ziegler to tally double figures with 11 points, now sitting eight shy of 1,000 career points. Emirson Devenie scored her first points in the Crimson and Gray in the fourth quarter, knocking down eight straight points to start the final frame. The Hawks are now 13-13 overall in the state of Florida, winning in the first meeting between the two programs.
Scouting The Terriers
The Terriers enter the matchup on a four-game winning streak after dropping its opening two games. Boston had a chance to grab a game-winner over Northeastern but missed on its final attempt in a one-point defeat before falling on the road to Miami. Four-straight double-digit wins ensued, including most recently defeating New Hampshire 78-42. Boston shares similar scoring stats as the Hawks, averaging 66.2 points per game while only giving up 56.3 a contest.
The Terriers shoot just over 42% from the field and an effective 38.5% from behind the arc. BU also cleans up the glass, averaging 42.5 boards per game and a 8.2 rebounding margin. Alex Giannaros paces the Terriers with 16.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Sydney Johnson adds 12.6 points and a team-high 21 assists. Caitlin Weimar averages a double-double every game, entering Thursday's matchup with 12.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, while Maggie Pina has proven to be a sharpshooter from deep, converting 13 of her 25 three pointers on the year for a 52.0% clip.
Start As You Mean To Go On
The Hawks are 6-0 for just the third time in program history after defeating North Florida. SJU has achieved the feat twice under Coach Griffin the last coming in the 2005-06 season where the Hawks won the first seven games of the season. The 1984-85 squad hold the best start to the campaign, going 10-0 before dropping its first loss of the year.
Entering Tuesday's national schedule, the Hawks are one of just 27 teams to remain undefeated headed into the second month of the campaign, the only A-10 team remaining with an unblemished record.
Milestone Watch
Katie Jekot returns for her sixth year of collegiate basketball, providing veteran leadership for the Hawks. The Enola, Pa. native has played in 107 career games on Hawk Hill, including 101 starts. The sixth year guard holds a 1.48 assist-to-turnover ratio over her career, her 992 points just 8 shy from becoming the 26th Hawk to hit the 1,000 mark. Jekot also sits just 26 assists away from cracking the top 10 in program history.
Phenomenal Freshmen
Over the last two seasons, more than likely the women's reigning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week resided in Hawk Hill. With Laura Ziegler winning the first three awards of the season, the Hawks have now tallied 12 straight Rookie of the Week honors in a row. Talya Brugler had a team-high six last season, only two behind the all-time record holder in former Hawk great Susan (Moran) Lavin.
Hawks In The Rankings
SJU statistically ranks out well in a variety of categories, helping them get off to a hot start to begin the 2022-23 season.
Free Throw Percentage - 78.5% (5th in A-10, 21st in NCAA)
Fouls Per Game - 14.0 (2nd in A-10, 22nd in NCAA)
Three Point Percentage - 37.7% (2nd in A-10, 28th in NCAA)
Scoring Defense - 55.7 (1st in A-10, 43rd in NCAA)
Field Goal Percentage - 44.2% (2nd in A-10, 70th in NCAA)
Florida Fun
The Hawks took flight for the second time this season, facing North Florida on the road. In just no time, SJU took an early lead with 10 points from Ziegler coming in the first quarter. The Hawks were able to extend the lead by as many as 32 - a season-high against an opponent. At no point did the Hawks trail the game en route to a 79-56 victory over the Ospreys, marking the largest margin of victory of the season.
Wire to Wire
In 240 total minutes of basketball so far in the season, the Hawks have led for a total of 211 minutes and 58 seconds of that time, trailing for just 14:56 minutes. For 88.32% of the season, the Hawks have held a lead. Only 7.05% of the time has Saint Joseph's been trailing in a contest, while tied the remaining 4.64%. SJU has finished a game with the lead for more than 38 minutes on three occasions (Penn, Vanderbilt, North Florida), having never trailed against both the Quakers and the Ospreys.
Jekot Serving Dishes
Katie Jekot remains one of the premier passers in the country entering her final season in the Crimson and Gray. The sixth year guard ranks third in the A-10 in both assists (5.0) and assist-turnover ration (2.5). That ranks 43rd nationally in both categories.
So Nice, Did It Thrice
Just three weeks in, freshman Laura Ziegler has already earned her third Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week honor this past week, highlighting what has been an incredible start to life on Hawk Hill for the Danish forward.
Against Temple, Ziegler became the first Hawk since 2011 to record at least 10 points, eight rebounds and five blocks as the rookie finished with a 10/8/5 line with an additional three steals. Ziegler followed the performance by leading the team in points (15) and rebounds (8) against North Florida.
The talented forward has now shared or recorded the most rebounds in each of the six games to start the season. Through six contests, the rookie has also recorded the most points for a freshman in at least the last decade for Saint Joseph's. Ziegler is also one of just two players to average 11 points and eight rebounds in the opening six games since 2013-14, the only freshman to do so. Ziegler posted 16 points in her season debut against Bucknell, still holding as her career-best thus far.
