Saint Joseph's (4-0) at Temple Owls (2-3)
Wednesday, November 22 | 6:00 p.m. | Liacouras Center | Philadelphia, Pa.
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GAMEDAY LINKS
Saint Joseph's: Roster | Schedule | Stats | Game Notes
Temple: Roster | Schedule | Stats

Saint Joseph's takes on Temple in the third-consecutive matchup against a Philadelphia foe.

• Saint Joseph's is 47-37 all-time against Temple, entering Wednesday's contest on a three-game win streak.
• Temple holds a 26-11 advantage over the Hawks since 1999-2000, but St. Joe's has won seven of the last 10.
• Head Coach Cindy Griffin holds a 10-25 record overall against Temple.
 
DEFENSIVE PROWESS
The Hawks have held three of their opponents to under 35% from the field, and all four under 40% for a combined 79-240 (.329) mark. It is the ninth time since the start of the 2022-23 season that St. Joe's has limited opponents to under 35%. The 196 points allowed after four games is the fewest under the Cindy Griffin era, and the third-fewest all-time in program history (1973-74, 1993-94).

THE OPPONENT
Three of last year's top four scorers return to the folds for the Owls, led by Tiarra East and Aleah Nelson who combine for 20.0 points per game on the season. Nelson also leads the team in assists, dishing 3.6 dimes per contest. Ines Piper also returns from last year to lead Temple in rebounding (6.4).
Temple shoots just 40.4% from the floor and 27.7% from the three, but make up for it by being one of the nation's best when it comes to crashing the offensive glass. The Owls rank 23rd in the country with 17.4 offensive boards per game.

PLAYING WITH THE LEAD
St. Joe's has held the lead for at least 32 minutes in all three games, totaling a time of 146:06 holding a lead over the first 160 minutes of the season. The Crimson and Gray have held an advantage for 91.89% of the season, with just 4.74% of the time with a deficit. The largest lead an opponent has held over the Hawks was just three points.

MAKING THE FREE ONES COUNT
Late into the second week of the season, the Hawks have had an elite start at the charity stripe. SJU has knocked down 83.9% of its attempts (47-56), the mark good for eighth-best in the NCAA.
A majority of the help came against the win at Yale, cashing in on 23-25 (92.0%) of their shots from the line - including a 15-15 performance in the fourth quarter. The output was the first time since November of 2021 that St. Joe's knocked down at least 20 free throws and was the third-best percentage at the line since December 2011 (min. 20 made)

CASEY EARNS FIRST A-10 HONORS
The Atlantic 10 Conference announced its weekly awards on Monday afternoon as Gabey Casey was selected as the A-10 Rookie of the Week. The freshman came off a 9.5 ppg week for the Hawks, including a 16-point outburst against Penn for a career-best on 5-6 shooting from the floor and 5-5 from the free throw line. Casey added four rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal on the week.

TALYA TAKEOVER
Talya Brugler tallied her fifth-career double-double against Drexel, dropping 26 points and 10 rebounds in the victory against the Dragons. Brugler has now scored 20+ points in two games on the year, after leading the team last season with nine games of 20+ points. Brugler has upped her career field goal percentage to 52.0%, ranking sixth all-time in program history.

ZIEGLER DOMINANCE
Early into the season, Laura Ziegler has been one of the most dominant players on the glass in the country. The sophomore ranks 15th in the NCAA, 1st in the conference, in rebounds per game with 11.8. The Danish forward also ranks sixth in terms of defensive rebounds, pulling in 9.6 per game on the other end of the floor. Three of her four games this year, Ziegler has recorded 12+ rebounds with the outlier being just five against Yale.

SMITH'S SECOND HALF
Held without a point to her name in the first half against the Dragons, Mackenzie Smith bursted onto the scenes in the final 20 minutes. Starting the game 0-4, Smith finished 6-8 in the second half to finish with 18 points.