PHILADELPHIA - Saint Joseph's women's basketball plays host to Villanova on Saturday evening inside Hagan Arena, the matchup with the Wildcats having major implications on the Big 5 standings.

GAME INFORMATION: St. Joe's (8-1, 0-0 A-10) vs. Villanova (6-2, 0-0 Big East)
DATE/TIME: Saturday, December 9 | 7:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Hagan Arena | Philadelphia, Pa.
LIVE STATS: sjuhawks.com
LIVE STREAM: ESPN+
TICKETS: sjuhawks.com
 

LAST TIME OUT
• St. Joe's hit its first stumbling block on the season, falling to one of the nation's best as #11 Utah took a 74-48 win over the Hawks on Thursday evening.
• In the third game in six days, the Hawks started slow en route to a 2-12 start from the field over the first quarter. Utah extended the lead to as much as 27 before the Hawks came rallying back, winning the second and third quarter while cutting the deficit to as little as six points. The high-octane Ute offense was too much, regaining a healthy margin in the final frame to take the win.
• Talya Brugler added a team-high 16 points in the defeat. Mackenzie Smith finished in double-digits with 10 points, while Laura Ziegler finished with eight points and eight rebounds. Alissa Pili of Utah dropped 31 points, an opponent all-time high inside Hagan Arena.
 

SERIES HISTORY
• The Hawks are 27-21 all-time against the Wildcats.
• SJU won 22 of the first 28 meetings between the two teams, but are currently 7-22 against Villanova in the 21^st century.
• The Wildcats enter with a seven-game win streak, surpassing the longest streak that was previously held by the Hawks (six games) on two separate occasions.
 

SAINT JOSEPH'S | Roster | Schedule | Stats | Game Notes
• 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 27 points shy (973) of eclipsing the mark. If the pace continues, Mackenzie Smith (812) could also surpass the milestone before the end of the season.
• Julia Nyström enters the matchup with Villanova 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.
• Entering as the nation's highest-powered offense in the country at 99.0 points per game, the Hawks held #11 Utah to just 74 points - the lowest output all season for the Utes.
• Laura Ziegler ranks 15^th in the country with 10.7 rebounds per game, third in the NCAA in defensive rebounds after averaging 8.6 per night over her first nine games.
 

VILLANOVA: Roster | Schedule | Stats
• Villanova is one of the premier teams in the country in sharing the ball, dishing more than 15 assists per game. The Wildcats also rarely turn the ball over, ranking 8th in the NCAA with a 1.67 assist-turnover ratio. Only Colorado State has fewer (8.0) turnovers a game than Villanova's 9.1 per game. The Wildcats also rank first in the Big East in blocks per game, swatting 4.5 attempts per night.
• For most teams, replacing a third-overall pick in the WNBA draft would be a daunting task. Lucy Olsen has taken that responsibility, however, entering the matchup with 24.5 points per game to put her at fourth in the country. Olsen plays more than 36 minutes per game, shooting at a high rate (152 attempts through eight games) and at a high clip (47.4%).
• Christina Dalce makes the other part of a dynamic duo, the forward one of the most elite players in the country on the glass. Dalce ranks top of the country in offensive rebounds per game, raking in 6.5 per game. The dynamic junior also ranks third in total rebounds, collecting 12.1 boards per game while pitching in 10.0 points per game. Bella Runyan helps the offense go, registering a team-high 36 assists compared to just 11 turnovers.
 

UP NEXT: 
• Saint Joseph's takes a deserved break, 11 days off between games as the Hawks return to host the Hawk Classic on December 20-21.