PHILADELPHIA – Despite not making a basket over the course of the final nine minutes, the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team was able to outlast Temple in a Big 5 thriller, defeating the Owls 67-65 in overtime at the Liacouras Center on Wednesday evening.
 
St. Joe's continues the strong start to the season, now 5-0 on the year and 2-0 in Big 5 games. Temple falls to 2-4 and 0-2 in Big 5 matchups.
 
FIRST QUARTER

• The Hawks have been hampered with slow starts this season, but the exception was made tonight as St. Joe's went 5-7 (71.4%) to start the game to jump out to an early 11-2 lead in the opening three and a half minutes.
• Back-to-back triples from Julia and Nyström and Laura Ziegler, along with another Ziegler bucket, extended the advantage to 19-4 in the early stages of the first frame.
• After a Chloe Welch backdoor cut, Mackenzie Smith was given too much space by her defender. The junior made her pay, knocking down a triple as the Hawks took a 15-point lead. Temple would grab a basket before the horn sounded, SJU holding a 24-11 lead.

 
SECOND QUARTER

• Gabby Casey scored a quick four points in back-to-back possessions to extend the Hawk lead to 17. The Owls would respond with a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 28-20 at the second quarter media timeout.
• Temple extended the run to 11-0, but five-straight points from Ziegler re-established a double-digit lead.
• The hosts would continue to look to establish themselves back into the contest, drawing as close to four points with under two minutes to play. Casey answered the call with a three pointer off a screen, before hitting another one on the next trip after a spin move and a step back left her enough space to tickle the twine for her 10^th point of the quarter.
• The Hawks entered the half with a 39-29 lead.

 
THIRD QUARTER

• Both teams came out of the break cold, only a combined 13 points being scored between the two teams with an 8-5 advantage for the hosts.
• Casey would once again call her number, slashing to the basket and embracing the contact to connect on the old-fashioned three-point play to put SJU up 47-37 with 3:13 to go.
• Temple scored seven of the final nine points of the quarter, minimizing the St. Joe's lead to 49-44 to start the fourth.

 
FOURTH QUARTER

• A 6-0 Temple run to start the frame would give the Owls the first lead of the game after an Aleah Nelson triple from the wing.
• Both teams traded points back and forth over the next four minutes as the Owls tallied a two-point lead with just under two minutes to play.
• A 1-2 effort from the line from Smith cut the Temple lead to one with 1:40 play. Defensive stops on both ends gave the Hawks a chance at the end to walk out with a win, as Welch was sent to the free throw line with just over two seconds remaining.
• Making her first, the graduate transfer missed short on her second and the last second shot from the Owls rattled out as both teams went to their first overtime game of the season.

 
OVERTIME

• St. Joe's held Temple off the scoreboard for the opening four minutes of the extra frame, knocking down 5-6 from the free throw line during that span.
• Temple cut the deficit to two, but pesky Hawk defense and free throws gave the Hawks enough of an advantage that even a Nelson triple at the buzzer was only enough to cut the score to 67-65 as the Hawks walked out of the Liacouras Center as victors.

 
GAME NOTES

• Laura Ziegler finished with a team-high in points (21) and rebounds (13) to collect her 11^th double-double of her career. Ziegler also added four blocks in the win.
• Talya Brugler was fouled nine times on the evening, adding a quiet 10 points. Brugler's streak of 12-12 from the free throw line to start the season was broken today, finishing 6-8 from the charity stripe.
• Gabby Casey comes off her A-10 Rookie of the Week performance with another to match, finishing with 15 points on 6-7 shooting.
• St. Joe's shot just 21-60 (35.0%) from the floor on the evening despite a 16-32 (50.0%) performance in the first half. It is just the third time in the last five years that the Hawks won after shooting 35% or lower in a game.
• Defensively, the Crimson and Gray held Temple to 25-72 (34.7%) from the floor. Tristen Taylor tied a game-high with 21 points on 8-14 shooting. Nelso finished with 16 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
• The Hawks were outrebounded 48-36 on the night, including a 17-8 margin in favor of Temple in offensive rebounds. Despite the discrepancy, it was St. Joe's that held an 8-4 advantage in second chance points.
• St. Joe's had lost five-straight overtime games before tonight, the last win in extra time coming against Columbia in a 68-61 victory in November 2019.
• The Hawks won their first road overtime game since November of 2013 when they defeated Wichita State in an 81-73 game.
• Temple held a lead for 4:09 of the game, the largest amount by a Hawk opponent after the first five games.
• St. Joe's is 6-3 all-time in overtime games against Big 5 opponents. The Hawks hold a 3-2 advantage in overtime games against Temple in Big 5 play, 3-3 overall against the Owls in overtime.

 
UP NEXT
The Hawks close out a five-game road trip with a matchup against Bucknell on Tuesday, November 28. Tip is scheduled for 6 p.m.