PHILADELPHIA  – The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team shook off a slow start, powering through in the fourth quarter to accelerate to a 58-36 win over Loyola Chicago inside Hagan Arena on Tuesday evening.
 
The Hawks now move to 4-0 on the year in A-10 play, 14-2 overall. Loyola Chicago falls to 6-11 (1-3 Atlantic 10).
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Nearly a two-and-a-half-minute drought from both teams starting things off for both sides, each team looking to shake off the slow start. The Ramblers struck first, connecting on a triple with 7:38 left in the quarter. On the end, the Hawks answered through Talya Brugler, finishing at the rim to open the scoring for SJU.
• Shaking off a two-point performance against the Billikens, Mackenzie Smith drove to the rack midway through the quarter before fighting through contact, finishing from 10 feet for a chance for an old fashioned three-point play. Two possessions later, the Hawks grabbed their first lead of the night after Brugler hit a corner triple to put the Crimson and Gray up 8-5. A slow opening quarter for each led to a 13-10 advantage for St. Joe's after the first quarter.
• The Hawk defense continued to stifle the offense of Loyola Chicago, holding the Ramblers to just one field goal in the opening five minutes of action. A 10-3 run to start the quarter helped launch the Hawks to a double-digit lead at the media timeout.
• After both teams traded baskets, the Ramblers grabbed four the next four points over the course of the final three minutes of the half to cut the deficit to six with the ball on the final possession. A Laura Ziegler steal poked the ball free, Emma Boslet collecting and racing down the floor as the junior beat her defender and laid the ball in as time expired, giving the Hawks a 27-19 halftime advantage.
• Another slow start by both sides awaited on the other end of halftime, only two baskets for either team in the opening three minutes. A triple by Laura Ziegler extended the Hawk advantage back to double figures, SJU leading 32-21.
• The Ramblers tallied the next seven points over the next 3:20, cutting the deficit to as little as four with just under three minutes remaining. The Hawks were able to hold the four-point lead heading into the final frame at 34-30.
• SJU clamped down on defense, not allowing a point over the course of nearly seven minutes (1:13, 3Q – 4:34, 4Q). During that span, the Hawks cruised to a 15-0 run, taking a 49-30 lead before the Ramblers finally made the first basket of the fourth. The visitors only mustered up four more points through the final four minutes, Saint Joseph's cruising over the final 10 minutes to its fourth-straight conference win to start the campaign in a 58-36.

 
GAME NOTES

• Hawks held the Ramblers to just nine points in the second quarter, a season-best. The 19 points at the half were fewest by a Hawk opponent in a half all season. In the second half, the Hawks bested their efforts with a six-point effort allowed in the fourth quarter, setting a new standard with just 17 points allowed in the second half.
• The 36 points allowed is a season low, previously 47 in the previous outing against the Billikens. The 36 points is the fewest points scored by an opponent since George Washington's 34 last season (February 20, 2022), the 14th time the Hawks held an opponent to under 40 points since 2009-10.
• In the last three games, opponents have combined for just 55-188 (29.2%) from the field, St. Joe's holding its second straight opponent to under 30% from the field. LUC finished 16-58 (27.6%) on the night, including just a 3-20 (15%) effort from deep. 
• The Hawks entered 15th in the country from the foul line, growing their season percentage after shooting 12-14 (85.7%) from the charity stripe.
• Saint Joseph's shot just 19-51 (37.3%) from the field, but knocked down 8-21 (38.1%) from range. It's the second time this season the Hawks tallied a better percentage from behind the arc than total field goals (North Florida).
• Mackenzie Smith shook off her worst output scoring in the last contest, dropping a team-high 15 points in the win, a perfect 5-5 from the foul line. Her six rebounds matched a season-high, the third time hitting that mark.
• Reigning and five-time Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week Laura Ziegler produced yet another double-double, her second in the last three games. Over the three-game stretch, the freshman is averaging 12.0 points and 10.7 rebounds. Ziegler finished with 10 points and 10 boards tonight, adding two blocks and a career-high three assists.
• Talya Brugler finished in double figures for the 10th-straight game, adding 11 points on the night for SJU.
• Olivia Mullins continues to shine, chipping in nine points and eight rebounds.
• Nine different players scored for the Hawks, everyone that took a shot at least making one basket. 
• Nobody from Loyola Chicago scored more than seven points on the night, led by Sitori Tanin's seven points and eight rebounds.
• The Hawks are 14-2 for the first time since Cindy Griffin's first season on Hawk Hill, tallying the joint-best start in her tenure after 16 games. 
• Only five other times under Griffin's era have the Hawks started the conference campaign 4-0. 

UP NEXT

• The Hawks clash with the preseason favorites on the road on Saturday, taking on Massachusetts at the Mullins Center. The January 14 matchup is slated for a 2 p.m. tip.