PHILADELPHIA – Mackenzie Smith delivered in the home opener with 19 points while freshman Laura Ziegler dazzled in her collegiate debut as Saint Joseph's (1-0) cruised to a 66-49 opening night victory against Bucknell (0-1) on Saturday evening in Hagan Arena.
  
 HOW IT HAPPENED

• In her first start, Ziegler got the Hawks rolling as the rookie scored the first points of the season to take the early lead. A basket from Bucknell late in the first quarter gave the Bison its biggest lead of the game at 8-6. 
• The Hawks responded with nine-straight points to end the quarter, gaining a 15-8 lead heading into the second frame.
• The lead stretched to as many as 11 before the Bison slowly chipped away at the deficit. The two teams entered halftime with the Hawks leading 25-20.
• The Bison would take its last lead midway through the third quarter as Tai Johnson connected on a bucket in the paint to give Bucknell a 34-33 lead. Once again, the Hawks responded with seven points in a row to surge back ahead.
• With 35 seconds remaining in the third frame, Ziegler put on a mini 4-0 run of her own, including a turnaround jump shot with no time remaining to extend the Saint Joseph's lead to 47-38. Ziegler and Mackenzie Smith both combined for 20 of the 22 points in the third frame.
• Hindered by early foul trouble, last season's Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year Talya Brugler found some rhytym in the early stages of the final quarter. The sophomore scored consecutive baskets to increase the run to 8-0, forcing Bucknell into a timeout. 
• On the other side of the whistle, Julia Nyström created her own opportunities en route to five-straight points of her own. After timing the pass on the defensive side of the ball, Nyström picked off the Bison and ran down the other end for a wide open layup. The next possession, Katie Jekot found the Swedish sophomore behind the arc, connecting on a triple to put the Hawks up by 15.
• Ziegler added to her tally with a smooth fadeaway reminiscent of Dirk Nowitzki before finding Paula Maurina with a dump pass to take their largest lead of the game at 60-41 with 3:47 remaining.
• The lead would be trimmed no smaller than 15 points as the explosive outburst in the second half paved way for the opening night win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Ziegler finished with 16 points and a team-high seven rebounds and three steals, also adding two assists to her impressive debut.
• Smith scored early and often, collecting 17 of her game-high 19 points in the first three quarters. Smith added four boards to her night. 
• Nyström entered double-digits for fifth time in her career. The Swede finished with 10 points and a +/- of 29 to lead the team, no one with more than 15.
• Jekot proved to be her usual self, doing it all with six points, five assists and four rebounds.
• Emirson Devenie and Kaylie Griffin both got their first minutes of their career tonight in the win.
• Saint Joseph's dominated in the paint with a 34-22 advantage over Bucknell, capitalizing on Bison errors with a 17-6 margin in points off turnovers.
• SJU shot 25-54 (46.3%) from the field and 4-11 (36.4%) from deep. The Hawks were nearly flawless from the line, finishing 12-13 from the charity stripe.
• Bucknell finished 17-46 (37.0%) on the night and 5-15 (33.3%) from three, also making the most of their freebies with a clip of 90.9% (10-11).

UP NEXT

• The Hawks return to action on Friday when they face Yale inside Hagan Arena. Tip is slated for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.