Saint Joseph's (8-0) vs. Utah (7-1)
Thursday, December 7 | 7:00 p.m. | Hagan Arena | Philadelphia, Pa.
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GAMEDAY LINKS
Saint Joseph's: Roster | Schedule | Stats | Game Notes
Utah: Roster | Schedule | Stats

Saint Joseph's welcomes #11/7 Utah to Hagan Arena on Thursday evening in a midweek bout against the Pac-12 foes.

• The Hawks are 7-32 all-time against ranked teams under head coach Cindy Griffin.
• The last win over a ranked team came in the 2012-13 season, defeating #11/11 Dayton in the A-10 Tournament.
• The highest-ranked win came in 2012, the Hawks hosting #5/5 Maryland inside Hagan Arena in a 50-49 thriller.
 

KEEPING IT CLEAN
St. Joe's is one of the cleanest in the country over the course of the first eight games. The Hawks have averaged just 11.9 fouls per game, ranking them fourth. Dartmouth leads the nation with only 9.3 fouls per game.
 

MILESTONE WATCH
Talya Brugler has her eyes set on becoming the 29th Hawk in program history to surpass the 1,000-point mark in her career, sitting just 43 points shy (957) of eclipsing the mark. If the pace continues, Mackenzie Smith (802) could also surpass the milestone before the end of the season.


THE OPPONENT
The Utes are an elite scoring team at all three levels, having scored at least 77 points in every game this season, including more than 100 points on five separate occasions. Utah ranks first in the NCAA in scoring margin (42.5), points per game (99.0), assists per game (27.4), field goal percentage (55.4%), three-point attempts per game (32.9) and three point percentage (44.5%). The Utes also rebound at a high clip, averaging 44.5 boards per contest.
All-American and reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year Alissa Pili returns on the season, already off to a hot start with 22.2 points per game - ranking near the top 20 in college basketball. Pili hits at an elite rate from the field, connecting on 74.2% of her attempts. Despite the strong start to the season, the Utes will now have to look to replace a massive void in the way of Gianna Kneepkens, who suffered a season-ending injury in the rivalry matchup against BYU. Kneepkens was one of the most elite shooters in the country, hitting at a 54.0% clip from range. The All-American averaged 17.8 points and nearly four assists per game before her injury. The Utes have also been without Isabel Palmer since their third game of the season, who averaged 14.0 points and 5.3 assists in her opening three games.
 

SWEDISH SHARPSHOOTER
Julia Nyström enters the matchup with Utah with a 12-20 (.600) clip from beyond the arc, moving her to 62-155 on her career. Nyström ranks second in program history in three-point percentage amongst players with at least 150 attempts, knocking down a 40.0% clip from behind the arc.
 

DEFENSIVE PROWESS
The Hawks have held four of their opponents to under 35% from the field, North Florida the only opponent in the first eight games to eclipse 40% from field goals by an opponent. St. Joe's sits 53rd in the NCAA in field goal defense, allowing opponents to just 35.6% from the field.
The win against Temple is the 10th 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 was the fewest under the Cindy Griffin era, and the third-fewest all-time in program history (1973-74, 1993-94).