PHILADELPHIA  – The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team dropped its second in as many games by a single possession, a second half slump at fault for a 61-58 defeat to La Salle inside Hagan Arena on Wednesday evening.
 
The Hawks fall to 14-4 on the year, 4-2 in conference play. La Salle moves to 12-8 on the season (3-2 A-10) on their three-game win streak.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Hawks used four different scorers to launch to an early 9-3 lead in the opening stages, shooting nearly 70% in the opening three minutes. The Explorers chipped away, using back-to-back triples to level the game back at 9-9.
• With the first four made baskets for La Salle coming from behind the arc, the first two-pointer gave the Explorers the first lead of the night at 14-13. Trading baskets, Laura Ziegler helped finish off a 7-0 run to end the half after her back-to-back buckets helped the Hawks to a 22-16 lead after one.
• St. Joe's was kept off the board for nearly three minutes in the second before Talya Brugler opened the scoring with a free throw. Katie Jekot finally broke the drought for the Hawks with a wide-open layup, re-establishing a four-point lead after the Hawk defense kept the Explorers at bay.
• Extending the lead by as many as nine after Ziegler's second triple of the night, the Hawks failed to score over the course of the final three minutes of the first half. A three-pointer with 51 seconds left from La Salle's Mia Jacobs broke a duct of five minutes for the Explorers without a field goal, the only one over the final 5:51 as SJU entered the break with a 34-28 lead.
• Outscoring opponents by more than 40 points in the third quarter, the Hawks got a taste of their medicine as the visitors used a 21-12 quarter to turn their deficit into a 49-46 advantage with 10 minutes remaining. The Hawks shot just 28.6% from the field on the quarter, scoring just two field goals in the final 5:20 of the quarter.
• The Hawk offense couldn't garner momentum, shooting just 4-17 to finish the contest, falling in the second-straight one possession game in a 61-58 victory for the visitors.

 
GAME NOTES

• Katie Jekot entered the game two assists short of 9th overall in program history, her seven assists on the night pushing her past Mary Kate McDade (2005-09) with 390 on her career. Jekot sits 27 assists shy of current assistant coach and Hawk great Ashley Prim (417).
• Jekot's 11 points also moved her into a tie for 23rd in scoring, sitting level with Melissa Coursey with 1,047 career points.
• Talya Brugler finished 7-9 from the floor for a team-high 17 points, adding six boards in the loss. The sophomore has scored in double figures over the last 12 games.
• Ziegier tallied 11 points, adding seven rebounds, three assists and three blocks.
• Emma Boslet played a career-high 31 minutes in the matchup. adding six points and six boards after tallying a career-high in points (11) and rebounds (9) in the first game between the two. Boslet entered a perfect 12-12 from the line, missing her first free throw (3-4) of the season.
• Claire Jacobs had a game-high 18 points in the win, her younger sister adding 12 points and 12 rebounds.
• St. Joe's shot 50% from the field in the opening quarter (8-16), shooting just 12-43 (27.9%) the rest of the way.

 
UP NEXT

• The Hawks continue a three-game home stand, hosting the Fordham Rams inside Hagan Arena on Sunday, January 22. The 2 p.m. game will recognize the 2012-13 Atlantic 10 Championship team, former players returning to Hawk Hill for festivities throughout the weekend.