PHILADELPHIA – In a dominating performance, the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team cruised to a 92-61 victory inside Hagan Arena against St. Bonaventure, getting back to winning ways on Wednesday night.
 
The Hawks move to 15-5 on the season, 5-3 in Atlantic 10 action. St. Bonaventure falls to 4-19, 1-7 in the A-10.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After the Bonnies scored on the opening possession of the game, the Hawks quickly tallied three-straight possessions with a basket to earn a quick 7-2 lead, bookended by a Mackenzie Smith three-pointer and layup.
• The Hawks ended a two-minute drought offensively, back-to-back triples on as many possessions from Olivia Mullins extending the advantage to 13-4 before a Bonnies timeout. The Hawks would continue for a run of five baskets on five possessions, Laura Ziegler hitting a three of her own on the other end of the timeout as the Hawks would go up 20-6.
• An Emma Boslet three and four-straight free throws to end the quarter gave SJU a 27-13 lead after 10 minutes.
• With the Hawk offense defined by streaks to start the game, the second quarter proved no different as the Hawks scored on the opening five possessions, quickly pushing the lead to 39-19.
• Jaden Walker moved the Hawk lead to as many as 23 as the forward worked her way inside, finishing at the rack while drawing contact. The conversion of the three-point play pushed the lead to 47-24. A late flurry of baskets, finished by a layup from Katie Jekot saw the Hawks go to halftime with a 26-point lead.
• The Bonnies came out in the second half with an upper hand, knocking down 10 of the first 13 points to cut the St. Joe's lead under 20 points before the Hawks responded. A 7-0 personal run from Brugler increased the lead back to 26.
• Boslet continued the Crimson and Gray run with a basket of her own, Walker rifling a pass into Mullins for an easy layup before the Bonnies were able to grab a bucket. Saint Joseph's ended the third quarter with a 69-44 lead.
• St. Joe's kept growing the lead in the final frame, Emirson Devinie checking in before hitting a corner triple and a layup in back-to-back possessions to push the lead to 30.
• Boslet would show off some moves midway through the quarter, pump faking to send a defender past her before slipping between two defenders and finishing with her left to give the largest lead to that point at 82-48.
• The Hawks would cruise over the final few minutes, Paula Maurina calling her number on three separate occasions to help steady the Hawk offense towards the stretch. SJU walked off the floor as comfortable winners, a 92-61 win notched under its belt to move back into the win column.

 
GAME NOTES

• The 55 points scored at the half proved the most since December 28, 2015 after SJU posted 57 points in the first half of a 104-45 win over UMBC. Both of the first two quarters were season-highs for the Hawks, the 28-point second quarter the highest 10-minute tally of the season.
• The 92 points scored were the most since a 93-69 win at Niagara on November 12, 2017.
• With 26 assists, the Hawks hadn't recorded more dimes in a game since January 13, 2018. SJU recorded its 26 assists on 33 made baskets, shooting 33-59 (55.9%) from the field. It's just the second time all season the Hawks shot above 50% from the field and from deep (9-16 - 56.3%) this season.
• SJU recorded its largest lead against an opponent all season, leading by as many as 36 points. 
• The Hawks used the entire bench, rookie Judit Ambrona seeing her first minutes of action in the final two minutes of play.
• SJU set season-bests in points (92), field goals (33), three-point percentage (56.3%), assists (26), points in the paint (44), fast break points (16) and bench points (31).
• A top 10 free throw shooting team in the country, the Hawks bested their season average by knocking down 17-21 (81.0%) attempts from the charity stripe.
• Brugler recorded her 14th straight game in double figures, tallying a team-high 18 points. Brugler added a career-tying four assists, setting a new benchmark with four steals.
• Smith posted 15 points on seven attempts from the field, shooting at an effective 5-7 clip from the floor while knocking down four of her six free throws. Brugler leads the A-10 in attempts and makes. Smith also added seven rebounds - a season-high.
• Ziegler's 14 points all came in the first half, playing just 23 minutes on the evening - a season low. The rookie was an efficient 5-7 from the field, flawless from deep (2-2) and from the line (2-2).
• Boslet led the bench in both points (9) and rebounds (7), upping her average to nearly six points a night in conference play. Walker tallied seven points, three rebounds, two blocks and an assist off the bench with a 5-5 performance at the line.
• Mullins and Jekot combined for 14 points, 14 assists and just one turnover, Mullins setting a new career-high in dimes (7).
• Devinie and Paula Maurina combined for 11 points in 11 minutes, 5-6 from the field. 
• I'yanna Lops and Nikki Oppenheimer combined for 38 points on 13-25 shooting, the rest of the Bonnies team just 8-32 (25.0%) from the floor.

UP NEXT

• The Hawks are set for a two-game road stretch, starting with a trip to Richmond on Sunday, December 29. The 4 p.m. tip is slated for view on CBSSN.