Saint Joseph's (16-7, 6-5 A-10) at Dayton (4-18, 3-8 A-10)
Saturday, February 11 | 12:00 p.m. | UD Arena | Dayton, Ohio
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GAMEDAY LINKS
Saint Joseph's: Roster | Schedule | Stats | Game Notes
Dayton: Roster | Schedule | Stats | 

DAYTON, Ohio - The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team look to continue its momentum on Saturday afternoon, taking on the Dayton Flyers in a weekend Atlantic 10 matchup. The Saturday matinee is set for 12 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.
 

The Hawks return to the road, facing Dayton in the first of two games away from home on Saturday afternoon. St. Joe's comes off a 67-45 thrashing of VCU inside Hagan Arena, leading by as much as 33 points in the third quarter. SJU built a 38-19 advantage after two quarters, holding VCU to a 8+ minute drought to extend the lead into an eventual comfortable victory. 

The Crimson and Gray have faced overtime in the last two road trips, falling to Richmond 94-90 before a double-overtime thriller against league leading Rhode Island saw the Hawks fall 77-73.

Laura Ziegler posted a career-night against the Rams, scoring 22 points (tied career-high) and 16 rebounds (career high) in the win. Ziegler became the fifth Hawk since the 2009-10 season to record a 20/15 game. Mackenzie Smith continued her recent form with 11 points in the win, pushing the streak to five games with double figure scoring. SJU shot 49.1% from the field, holding the Rams to under 35% from the floor. St. Joe's also converted on 42.9% of long-range attempts, the sixth time eclipsing 40%.

With the win, the Hawks confirmed an above .500 finish on the season, the first time since the 2017-18 Hawks finished with a 19-15 record. That team was the last time the Hawks had a postseason bid, making the WNIT that year for the 28th postseason appearance in program history.

The Hawks will look to continue to reverse recent fortune as well as overcome a consistent obstacle over the course of the last decade. St. Joe's has lost the last 10 meetings against the Flyers, including the last nine on the road.

Scouting The Flyers
Dayton enters the weekend with a 4-18 record, sitting at 3-8 in the Atlantic 10. One of the best rebounding teams in the country, the Flyers average 42.0 rebounds a game - 25th best mark in the land. With an offense that scores around 65 points per night, the Flyers most effective offense comes from behind the perimeter. Dayton shoots an a well-above-average clip, knocking down 34.1% of their attempts from distance. 

Destiny Bohanon leads the Flyers with a 12.6 scoring average per game, also pacing Dayton with 21 steals. Bohanon ranks 50th nationally in minutes per game, averaging nearly 36 per night. Mariah Perez almost tallies a double-double per night, posting 11.6 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. Her 3.7 offensive boards rank 21st in the NCAA, while the senior forward has recorded half (23) of her team's blocks. Sydney Freeman contributes double-digits of her own with 10.1 points per game, Arianna Smith (9.9), Anyssa Jones (9.0) and Nayo Lear (8.7) rounding out a balanced scoring attack.

20-15 Club
Putting up an extraordinary performance in the win over VCU, freshman Laura Ziegler became just the fifth Hawk in the last 13 seasons to record a game with at least 20 points and 15 rebounds. Ziegler secured a double-double in the first half alone, tallying 15 points and 12 rebounds in the opening 20 minutes. The rookie finished with a joint career-best 22 points while setting a career-high with 16 rebounds. 

Back to Winning Ways
The Hawks search for their first winning streak since mid-January, coming off a challenging portion of the A-10 schedule. Having lost five of its last six, St. Joe's got back in the win column in emphatic fashion, posting a 22-point victory over VCU inside Hagan Arena. The Hawks shut down the Rams to just 34.6% shooting from the field, knocking down nearly 50% of field goals to lead by as many as 33. VCU was held to just five points in the third quarter, a season-best effort from the Hawks in any frame.

Surpassing the Staff
Katie Jekot is closing in on current assistant coach Ashley Prim, '14 in the all-time career assists chart. The sixth year guard sits just three dimes shy of tying the former Hawk great, who currently sits eighth overall in SJU history with 417 career assists. Jekot has raised her assist numbers each season she's been on Hawk Hill, the last three seasons averaging over 4.0 assists per game.