Saint Joseph's (12-2, 2-0 A-10) vs. Saint Louis (5-12, 1-1 A-10)
Saturday, January 7 | 2:00 p.m. | Hagan Arena | Philadelphia, Pa.
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GAMEDAY LINKS
Saint Joseph's: Roster | Schedule | Stats | Game Notes
Saint Louis: Roster | Schedule | Stats | Game Notes

PHILADELPHIA - The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team prepares for its home-opening conference game on Saturday afternoon, welcoming the Saint Louis Billikens to the City of Brotherly Love on the weekend. The matchup inside Hagan Arena is slated for a 2 p.m. tip.

The Hawks look to shake off a five-game losing streak to the Midwest side, having gone nearly a decade without beating the Billikens at home (L6). St. Joe's have started the conference season strong, beating second-place preseason picked La Salle at their place before coming off of a 77-61 win on the road at George Washington on Wednesday afternoon.

The 2-0 start in conference play is the eighth time since 2001-02 that the Hawks opened the first two games of A-10 play with wins. Under the tenure of Cindy Griffin, the Hawks have opened the conference home slate with a win 14 times on 21 occassions, a .667 record in A-10 home openers.

Laura Ziegler tallied her second career double-double against GW, finishing with a career-high 13 rebounds with 10 points. Mackenzie Smith had a team-high 16 points in the win, adding a career mark of five assists. Talya Brugler and Olivia Mullins both netted 15 points each, a career-high for Mullins on just six field goal attempts.

The matchup between the Billikens and Hawks features two of just four known teams in the country with a mother-daughter combination on the team, Cindy Griffin and Kaylie Griffin for SJU while Isabel Tillett transferred into Saint Louis along with her mother Rebecca Tillett's first season at the helm.

Scouting The Billikens
Saint Louis enters the matchup at 5-12, a 1-1 mark in conference play. After falling to Loyola Chicago in the opening A-10 game of the season, the Billikens are fresh off a historic performance against VCU, defeating the Rams 86-83 in overtime at the Siegel Center. Saint Louis was led by Kyla McMakin's program record 40 points in the win, knocking down 14 of her 33 field goal attempts to help lead the charge. The Billikens are one of the elite teams in the conference and country on the defensive side of the ball, 20th in the NCAA in blocks (5.1) and 63rd in steals (9.9), both leading the Atlantic 10.

Kyla McMakin enters with an 18.6 ppg average, good for 35th in the country and 2nd in the A-10. McMakin is second in the country in field goal attempts (336) and three point attempts (127). Kennedy Calhoun is 19th in the country in assists (80) on the season, averaging 4.7 per game. Julia Martinez leads the country with 56 steals, Calhoun in the top 30 with 36 of her own. Brooke Flowers also leads the country in a category, proving a menace in shot blocking with a nation-leading 68 blocks to her name already in the season.

Dubs In D.C.
The Hawks grabbed the third-straight win over George Washington when defeating the Colonials on the road in midweek play, marking a 77-61 win to move to 2-0 on the season in A-10 action. St. Joe's used an elite shooting performance to propel them to victory, knocking down 26 of its 43 shot attempts (60.5%), the first time shooting over 60% in more than five years, last happening in a dominant win at Niagara on November 12, 2017 (61.4%). Four players finished in double-figures, led by Mackenzie Smith's 16 points.

 

DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Laura Ziegler continues to impress in her debut season, collecting her second collegiate double-double in the win over the Colonials. Ziegler tallied 10 points, securing a career-high 13 rebounds in the win. Six of her 13 rebounds came in the opening quarter, tallying her 10th point in the fourth quarter. Ziegler averages 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds, the only freshman and one of just six women since 2009-10 to average 10/7 for the Hawks.

Assist Queen
With her 11 assists, Katie Jekot entered into the top 10 all-time in St. Joe's history in assists, entering the game at La Salle needing just eight to surpass Erin Shields (2010-14). Jekot has had a knack for dishing dimes against the Explorers, her two highest tallies being 12 against La Salle at home in the 2021-22 season and her 11 on New Year's Eve in Tom Gola Arena. Jekot is just the third Hawk in program history to record 1,000 points and 350 assists.

Lining Up
One of the premier free throw shooting teams in the country, the Hawks rank 15th in the nation in free throw percentage (78.4%). The Crimson and Gray are led by Mackenzie Smith and Talya Brugler, who rank first and third respectively in the A-10 in both free throws made (63, 57) and attempts (82, 67). Smith ranks 41st in the country in attempts and 32nd in the country in makes.