PHILADELPHIA – The Hawks earned their second title of the year, overcoming an early deficit and late game dramatics to squeeze by UAB in a 63-57 win in the championship of the Hawk Classic on Thursday afternoon in Hagan Arena.
 
St. Joe's, who earned at least a share of the Big 5 trophy with one game against La Salle remaining, made it the second on the season and the 12^th Hawk Classic title in program history.
 
The Hawks make it three-in-a-row to move to 11-1 on the year, the best start to a season under head coach Cindy Griffin in her 23-year tenure.
 
 
FIRST QUARTER

• A slow start from the Hawks cost them early ground, as St. Joe's shot 1-8 to open the game and 0-5 from three as the Blazers capitalized to start on a 10-2 run.
• Talya Brugler stabilized the Hawks with the first four points before dishing to a wide-open Chloe Welch for three to cut the lead to 10-7.
• The 9-0 run continued with pairs of free throws from Brugler and Welch to give the Hawks a lead, but UAB scored the final four points of the frame to take a 14-11 advantage after the opening 10 minutes.

 
SECOND QUARTER

• The Hawks came out with a blistering pace in the second quarter, scoring the first 16 points of the frame to take the lead back. The 3:39 span saw the Hawks shoot 7-8 from the field, four different scorers getting involved in the run.
• After the Blazers responded, Welch and Laura Ziegler responded with a quick five-point spurt to give SJU the largest lead of the Half.
• The two teams traded threes back and forth over the final minutes, UAB knocking a triple down as time expired to cut the St. Joe's advantage to 37-25.

 
THIRD QUARTER

• UAB scored the first four points of the second half to cut the deficit to eight points before Ziegler paused the run with a bucket of her own.
• The two teams traded the next five baskets heading into the media timeout, Kylee Schneringer's jumper bring the Blazers within single digits once more.
• St. Joe's struggled through the final five minutes of the quarter, scoreless over the last 5:16 of the frame as the visitors were able to close the gap to three points with a 44-41 SJU lead as the buzzer sounded.

 
FOURTH QUARTER

• St. Joe's struck first in the final stanza with back-to-back buckets by Ziegler to extend the lead to 48-41.
• The Blazers countered with a run of their own, knocking down the next six points to bring the score within one with under six minutes on the clock.
• Brugler answered UAB with an and-one to give the Hawks a two-possession lead, Welch following suit on the next drive after the visitors once again tried to close the gap.
• A drive to the basket by Denim DeShields put the Blazers behind just 55-53 with just over two minutes to play, but Ziegler went solo to grab her 20^th point of the game to again extend the advantage.
• UAB would get within two once more, but Welch sunk her next four free throws to put the game out of hand as the Hawks escaped victors, 63-57, to take bragging rights in the Hawk Classic.

 
GAME NOTES

• Chloe Welch ended with her first double-double as a Hawk, finishing with a game-high 22 points to go with her 10 rebounds. Welch averaged 15-9 over the two-day tournament.
• Laura Ziegler finished with 20 points on 9-16 shooting from the field, adding seven rebounds to her name.
• A day after collecting her 1,000^th point, Talya Brugler chipped in 15 points, tying a career-high with six assists and adding five rebounds to take MVP honors.
• St. Joe's overcame shooting just 39.3% from the floor, connecting on 24-61 attempts from the field. The Hawks finished 6-18 (33.3%) from deep and a perfect 9-9 from the free throw line.
• The nine turnovers is tied-fewest for the Hawks on the season.
• The 16-0 scoring run to start the second is the longest unanswered run on the season for the Hawks, beating their previous best of 12-straight points.
• Head Coach Cindy Griffin collected her best start after 12 games in her career, having been 10-1 the past two years before last season's team fell short in the Hawk Classic championship game against James Madison.
• The win marked the 12^th time that the Hawks took home the Hawk Classic trophy, the first time since the 2017-18 season.
• St. Joe's moves to 1-0 against the Blazers after the first game against the two programs.

 
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Talya Brugler, Saint Joseph's (MVP)
Chloe Welch, Saint Joseph's
Laura Ziegler, Saint Joseph's
Mia Moore, UAB
Kylee Schneringer, UAB
Breezie Williams, New Hampshire
 
 
UP NEXT
St. Joe's begins Atlantic 10 competition next time up, opening the conference slate with a road trip to the Bronx to take on Fordham. The December 30 matchup is set for a 4 p.m. tip.