Saint Joseph's (10-2, 0-0 A-10) at La Salle (8-6, 0-0 A-10)
Saturday, December 31 | 2:00 p.m. | Tom Gola Arena | Philadelphia, Pa.
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Saint Joseph's: Roster | Schedule | Stats | Game Notes
La Salle: Roster | Schedule | Stats |
PHILADELPHIA - The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team prepares for the finality of the 2022 season with a New Year's Eve clash against Big 5 and Atlantic 10 rivals La Salle on Saturday afternoon, the Explorers hosting the Big 5 finale of the season and A-10 opener for both teams at Tom Gola Arena.
St. Joe's (2-1) look to seal a second-place finish in the Big 5 standings while getting off to a strong start in league play, while the Explorers (0-3) look to nab the first win of the season against a Big 5 foe to break a three-game losing streak headed into the competition.
The Explorers have gotten the best out of the Hawks over the last few years, including a three-game winning streak over the Crimson and Gray after a season sweep in 2021-22. However, St. Joe's holds a overwhelming advantage in the series, looking to increase to the already lopsided 50-15 all-time record.
The Hawks come off a 10-day winter break after placing second at the 27th Hawk Classic, defeating Wright State in the opening round before falling to James Madison for just the second loss all season. Mackenzie Smith comes off her best two-game performance of her career, including a career-best 31 points against James Madison in the championship game of the Hawk Classic. Smith improved her ppg by nearly 2.5 by dropping 52 points in the two-game tournament. Olivia Mullins has also stepped up her performance, nearly recording a triple double against Wright St. before a career-high 12 points against JMU. Mullins averaged 11.5 pts, 6.0 reb and 6.0 assists at the Hawk Classic. Talya Brugler posted a career-high 27 points in the win over Wright St., leading the team with 15.8 points per game. Both Brugler and Smith lead the Hawks with 10 games scoring in double figures. Katie Jekot meets her sister Julie Jekot (LAS) as the two sisters take part in their third matchup against each other.
Scouting The Explorers
La Salle enters the game opening up its own A-10 schedule, looking to shake off a two-game losing streak. After a season-opening defeat, the Explorers won five of the next six games before falling in the Big 5 opener against Penn. La Salle also dropped its matchup to Temple, and is now fresh off back-to-back defeats at USF and Villanova.
The Explorers return the entire roster that finished last season, led by Preseason First Team All-Conference selection Kayla Spruill. The Baltimore native is in her fifth season with the Explorers, nearing 1,500 points in her career and averaging 13.8 points and 4.5 rebounds this season. Claire Jacobs also tallies double-digits a game, scoring 12.4 points per contest. Molly Masciantonio returned to the team after an injury kept her out for a few weeks, leading the team with 47 assists on just 14 turnovers.
Closing Out The Big 5
With the road contest with La Salle coming up, the Hawks will conclude its Big 5 season with a chance at a second place finish.
SJU started off the Big 5 campain with a victory over Penn inside Hagan Arena, defeating the Quakers in a 57-50 battle on November 15. Brugler led the charge over the inner-city rivals, scoring 19 of her career-high 23 points in the second half. Katie Jekot also added a stat padded night with six points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
For the third straight season, the Hawks walked off the court against their Big 5 foe Temple with a victory. The Hawks moved to 2-0 in the Big 5, using a 27-13 outburst in the third quarter to overcome a six-point deficit at the half. The Hawks used season bests in shooting percentage, assists, steals, blocks, points in the paint and points off turnovers to rally against the Broad Street rivals.
The Hawks fell in the third matchup against the Philadelphia Big 5 on the season, sitting at 2-1 with a road trip at La Salle awaiting for the final matchup in the 2022-23 season. Stumbling to #25 Villanova, the Wildcats used more than a 50% field goal percentage and 60% three-point percentage, as well as a 20-point advantage in the opening quarter to walk out with an 82-59 win.
Lining Up
One of the premier free throw shooting teams in the country, the Hawks rank 18th in the nation in free throw percentage (78.4%). The Crimson and Gray are led by Mackenzie Smith and Talya Brugler, who rank first and second respectively in both free throws made (56, 50) and free throws attempted (72, 59). Both rank in the 98th percentile in free throws made in the nation, Smith 27th overall while Brugler ranks 52nd.
Start As You Mean To Go On
The Hawks moved to 9-0 for the second time in program history after the road win against Rider. The victory over Drexel to move to 8-0 bested the previous longest start to a season undefeated under the tenure of head coach Cindy Griffin. Only the 1984-85 team, who started 10-0 to the season, remains in the way between the Hawks and the record books.
The Hawks haven't started 10-2 on the season since the 2013-14 season, that team falling in overtime of the Atlantic 10 championship game.
The Mac Classic
In the 27th Hawk Classic, Mackenzie Smith took over for the Hawks for possible her best back-to-back showing in her early Hawk career. The sophomore started with a 21 point, six rebound performance in the win over Wright St., shooting 6-10 from the field and 9-10 from the free throw line. The Canadian followed suit with a 31 point, career-high performance in the championship game on 11-19 shooting. Smith combined for 52 points on just 29 attempts from the field.
Mullins Stepping Up
With the absence of Katie Jekot for the third consecutive game, Olivia Mullins once again stepped into her increased role with ease, scoring a career-high 12 points against James Madison. Mullins played all 40 minutes against the Dukes, the first time since Jekot did so against Temple last season. Mullins also added 11 points, nine rebounds and six assists in the win over Wright St.
In the three games without Jekot, Mullins has averaged 10.7 points, 4.7 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game.
