Saint Joseph's (14-4, 4-2 A-10) vs. Fordham (12-7, 4-2 A-10)
Sunday, January 22 | 2:00 p.m. | Hagan Arena | Philadelphia, Pa.
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Saint Joseph's: Roster | Schedule | Stats | Game Notes
Fordham: Roster | Schedule | Stats | Game Notes
PHILADELPHIA - The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team hosts Fordham inside Hagan Arena on Sunday afternoon, celebrating Alumni Day and the 10 Year Aniversary of the 2013 Atlantic 10 Championship team that defeated the Rams. The Hawks are coming into the contest on a two-game losing streak, looking to get back to winning ways against the Rams.
St. Joe's (14-4, 4-2) have now dropped back-to-back games for the first time all season, losing to the two preseason favorites in Massachusetts and La Salle. Fordham (12-7, 4-2 A-10) are also coming off of a defeat, falling to current leaders in the conference Rhode Island. The Hawks welcome the last Atlantic 10 Championship team for St. Joe's (2012-13), who won 47-46 in the A-10 Championship against Sunday's visitors nearly a decade ago.
For the first time all year, the Hawks failed to maintain a halftime advantage in the loss to La Salle, heading into the locker room with a six-point lead. Shooting 50% from the field in the opening quarter, SJU finished just 12-43 (27.9%) the rest of the way.
Katie Jekot added 11 points and seven assists in the defeat. The 11 points pushed her up to a tie for 23rd in program history with 1,047 career points - joining Melissa Coursey (). The seven assists places her ninth all-time, surpassing Mary Kate McDade (2005-09) with 390 on her career. Talya Brugler finished with her 12th-straight game in double figures, scoring a team-high 17 points against the Explorers. Laura Ziegler recorded 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three blocks in defeat, Emma Boslet playing a career-high 31 minutes with six points and six rebounds.
Scouting The Rams
The second-best scoring offense in the conference, Fordham brings an average of 72.5 points per night, nearly averaging a 10.0 scoring margin against opponents. The Rams rank as one of the best three-point shooting teams (33.4%) in the A-10, while also holding opponents to under 29% from behind the arc. Fordham tops the conference in assist-turnover ratio (1.14) while being one of the conference's best at pickpocketing the ball (8.84 spg).
A high-powered offensive trio leads the way for the Rams, Asiah Dingle leading the way with 19.4 points per game - an Atlantic 10 best. Dingle also holds a team-high in steals (57), joint-best in assists (60) and grabs 5.4 rebounds a night. Anna DeWolfe sits second in the conference with 18.2 points per game, one of the highest scoring duos in the country. Kaitlyn Downey chips in a solid 11.0 points and a team-high 8.4 rebounds per game, one of three Rams that average 6.0 rebounds per game.
All About The Response
The Hawks look to avenge an offensive performance to forget in last season's meeting with the Rams, SJU scoring just 35 points in defeat to Fordham in Rose Hill Gym. The 35 points were the fewest since the 2018-19 season.
St. Joe's will look to end a two-game spurt, falling to the top two teams in the preseason poll by a combined five points in the last two games. The Hawks fell on the road to preseason favorite Massachusetts in a 58-56 contest before falling in a three-point defeat in the second matchup against La Salle.
Defensive Clinic
The Hawk defense has been locked in the last five games, holding all five teams under 40% from the field, including two teams under 30%. Over the last five games, the Hawks have allowed opponents just 99 made baskets on 306 attempts - 32.4%.
Lining Up
One of the premier free throw shooting teams in the country, the Hawks rank 19th in the nation in free throw percentage (78.0%). The Crimson and Gray are led by Mackenzie Smith (74) and Talya Brugler (64), who rank first and third respectively in the A-10 in free throws made. Both rank in the top 10 in A-10 in free throw percentage, led by Brugler's 82.1% - good for sixth in conference.
