AMHERST, Mass. – The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team dropped a heartbreaker against preseason favorites Massachusetts on Saturday afternoon, falling 58-56 to the reigning A-10 champions inside the Mullins Center.
The Hawks drop its first contest of the A-10 campaign to fall to 14-3 (4-1 A-10) on the year, the Minutewoman moving to 13-4 (3-1 A-10).
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After an early bucket from the Minutewomen, the Hawks got their offense started through Olivia Mullins. The junior guard knocked down a three from the corner to give SJU an early lead, one that Massachusetts quickly took back.
- However, the theme of the opening six minutes was Mullins, who knocked down her second and third threes of the game to give the Hawks an 11-6 lead headed into the opening media timeout.
- On the other end, Laura Ziegler continued her strong start to the game by getting involved offensively. The freshman recorded two assists, a steal and a block early in the game, adding six points over the final four minutes of the first quarter to help the Hawks to a 17-12 advantage.
- Ziegler continued the flurry into the second, scoring the first five points for the Hawks to extend the lead to 10. Her first triple of the afternoon put her into double figures with 11 of the first 22 points for St. Joe's.
- More than six minutes elapsed before the Hawks scored a basket, bookended by threes on each side from the Danish forward. The Hawks were able to keep the Minutewomen at bay, hanging on to the lead until the final possession of the half after Destiny Philoxy drained her first three of the night to tie the game at 30-30 headed into half.
- After being held to just two points in the opening 20 minute, Talya Brugler came to life in the third quarter. The sophomore started an 8-0 run all on her own, forcing Massachusetts into an early timeout as St. Joe's regained the lead.
- With the hosts trying to get back into the contest, Massachusetts got the crowd rocking with a deep three from Sydney Taylor. On the other end, Ziegler silenced the crowd with her career-high 18th point to give the Hawks a 46-40 advantage. The Minutewomen cut the deficit to 47-44 heading into the final frame.
- The Minutewomen started the fourth quarter with a 7-2 run, taking their first lead since late in the second quarter.
- With the Hawks trailing by two late in the game, Mullins stepped up again to make her fourth trey of the contest, earning SJU a 56-55 lead with 1:29 remaining. Massachusetts responded with a layup on the other end to regain the lead. SJU had three chances to grab a winner over the final minute, unable to find the back of the net as Massachusetts escaped the Mullins Center with a 58-56 win.
GAME NOTES
- Two fouls in the first four minutes kept Mackenzie Smith sidelined the rest of the half, scoring all four of her points from the foul line.
- The reigning A-10 Rookie of the Week, Ziegler scored 14 of her game-high 22 points in the first half. Ziegler shot 10-20 (50%) from the field, adding seven boards in the defeat.
- Mullins finished with 13 points on the afternoon, tying a career-high in made threes (4).
- Brugler grabbed double-digits for the 11th straight game, adding 12 points and five boards.
- The trio combined for 47 of the Hawks' 56 points.
- Saint Joseph's assisted on 16 of their 20 made baskets, finishing 20-52 (38.5%) from the field. Almost identical in percentage from the field (38.6%), the Minutewomen finished 22-57 from the floor.
- The Hawks had 18 turnovers on the day, entering the day just outside the top 20 in the country in not turning the ball over (13.0 T/Os per game). Massachusetts converted that to a 15-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
UP NEXT
- The Hawks return home for a three-game homestand, beginning with a Big 5 rival in La Salle on Wednesday, January 18. SJU won the first meeting between the two on opening day, grabbing a four-point 68-64 win on the road. Tip for Wednesday is slated for 7 p.m.
