PHILADELPHIA – For the second time in as many years, the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team had a season-opening win streak halted by a ranked opponent.
 
#11/7 Utah defeated St. Joe's 74-48 inside of Hagan Arena on Thursday evening, stopping the second-longest undefeated start to a season for head coach Cindy Griffin as the Hawks fall to 8-1 on the year. Utah improves to 8-1 on the year.
 
 
FIRST QUARTER

• Utah's offense showed why it ranked as the best in the country, knocking down four threes in the opening quarter en route to a 17-2 run to open the game.
• The Utes' defense was also stifling, only allowing six points over the first quarter to take a 22-6 lead after 10 minutes.
• All six points for the Hawks came by way of Talya Brugler, the Hawks shooting just 2-12 (16.7%) on the quarter.

 
SECOND QUARTER

• Utah quickly extended the advantage to 20 points early in the second quarter, holding a 31-11 advantage after a Inês Vieira driving layup with over five minutes to play.
• After four quick points from the Hawks, the visitors tallied five of their own to get the largest advantage to that point at 36-15.
• St. Joe's finished the half on an 11-2 run over the final 1:33, led by an opening and-one from Brugler. The next possession, Chloe Welch grabbed an old-fashioned three-point play of her own before Laura Ziegler knocked down a triple to make a 9-0 run for St. Joe's.
• After the Utes responded, Welch ran straight down the floor to drop home a contested floater as time expired, cutting the deficit to 12 heading into the locker room.

 
THIRD QUARTER

• The opening five baskets were traded by either team to open the second half. The Hawks found an offensive spurt, Mackenzie Smith starting an 8-0 run with a three as Brugler poured in the final five points of the run to cut the deficit to 44-38.
• Utah finished the quarter on a 7-2 run to extend its advantage to 51-40 headed into the final frame.

 
FOURTH QUARTER

• As Smith opened the final frame answering a Utah bucket with her second triple of the game, the Utes were able to turn to All-American and reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year Alissa Pili.
• Pili scored the first 14 points of the quarter for Utah to help them to a 14-3 run, the Pac-12 champions extending the advantage back to 20 points.
• The Hawks were unable to close the gap within 20, taking the first loss of the season as #11 Utah walked out with a 74-48 victory.

 
GAME NOTES

• Talya Brugler scored a team-high 16 points on the night, closing in on 1,000 career points with only 27 remaining to the milestone.
• Mackenzie Smith joined Brugler with double-digits after finishing her night with 10 points.
• Laura Ziegler finished with eight points and eight rebounds, Chloe Welch totaling nine points and seven boards.
• The Hawks shot 14-30 (46.7%) in the second and third quarter, but were undone by a combined 5-29 (17.2%) in the first and fourth frames.
• Utah capitalized on 17 SJU turnovers for a 21-7 margin in points off turnovers. The Utes also won the battle in the paint with a 40-28 advantage.
• Utah finished 28-57 (49.1%) from the field, the 8-24 (33.3%) effort from three being the lowest clip in a win this season.
• St. Joe's held Utah to the fewest points scored all season, the Utes entering the game as the highest-scoring team in the country at 99.0 points per game.
• Pili set a record for most points scored by an opponent at Hagan Arena, finishing her night with 31 points on 12-17 from the field.
• The Hawks fell to 6-2 all-time at home against members of the current Pac-12 conference.

 
UP NEXT
St. Joe's hosts Villanova inside Hagan Arena on Saturday night with large implications on the line. The winner between the Hawks and Wildcats will earn at least a share of the Big 5 title, both teams entering the night 2-0 in Big 5 play. Tip is slated for 7 p.m.