Saint Joseph's (18-9, 8-7 A-10) vs. Duquesne (18-10, 8-7 A-10)
Saturday, February 25 | 2:00 p.m. | Hagan Arena | Philadelphia, Pa.
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GAMEDAY LINKS
Saint Joseph's: Roster | Schedule | Stats | Game Notes
Duquesne: Roster | Schedule | Stats | Game Notes


PHILADELPHIA – The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team sets up to face Duquesne on the final day of the season on Saturday afternoon, hosting senior day festivities inside Hagan Arena.
 
The Hawks will honor senior Jaden Walker and manager Bryn Spaide prior to the start of Saturday's tip.
 
Saint Joseph's enters the matchup with Duquesne looking to end a two-game losing spurt after close losses to Rhode Island and George Mason. Trailing all first half against the Patriots, Talya Brugler and Laura Ziegler led the second half charge by scoring 23 of the 27 points scored. Leading by as many as four late, the Hawks were held to a near five-minute drought as George Mason took advantage to an 8-0 run, a lead the Patriots hung on to in the final stages.
 
Talya Brugler led the way against George Mason with her 24th game of the season scoring in double figures, finishing with 25 points and six rebounds. Laura Ziegler recorded her fourth double-double in the last five games with a 17 point, 10 rebound performance. The reigning A-10 Rookie of the Week has now secured eight double-doubles on the season.
 
The Crimson and Gray look for its second-straight above-.500 season, a win against Duquesne able to seal it after four-straight losing seasons in A-10 play.
 
The Hawks won both meetings against Duquesne last year, grabbing a five-point win on the road before a 16-point win at the conference tournament. St. Joe's won the first 20 games of the series between the Hawks and Dukes.
 
Scouting The Dukes
Duquesne rides a three-game win streak into the matchup with the Hawks, last defeating Loyola Chicago in their home finale. The Dukes have the stingiest shooting defense in the Atlantic 10, opponents only averaging 35.5% from the floor against them. Duquesne is no stranger to the three-point line, taking the 33rd most attempts per game in the country and connecting on 8.1 per game, 36th best in the NCAA. The Dukes also hold a massive advantage on the glass, averaging over 41 rebounds per game - 2nd best mark in the Atlantic 10.
 
Megan McConnell enters as one of the premier players in the conference, recording 12 double-doubles and two triple-doubles on the season while averaging 11.2 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.5 assists. McConnell ranks 18th in the country in assists, 23rd in assist-turnover ratio (2.43), 30th in minutes per game (36.3), 28th in rebounds per game and 41st in steals (62). Tess Myers leads the scoring with 11.9 points per game, one of five players to record double-digit scoring. Amaya Hamilton (10.9), Ayanna Townsend (10.6) and Precious Johnson (10.0) follow suit while Naelle Bernard sits just behind at 9.8 ppg. Johnson is one of the best shot blockers in the conference at just over 1.4 per game while securing 6.9 boards.
 
Lining Up
Ranking as high as 10th in the country in free throws a few weeks ago, the Hawks have found it tough to collect from the charity stripe as of late. Shooting 76.9% as a team, the Hawks have converted under 70% of their attempts in four of the last five games - combining for 24-42 (57.1%) from the foul line.
 
Bulk From The Bigs
The duo of Laura Ziegler and Talya Brugler went to work against George Mason, combining for 42 of the 60 points against the Patriots. The two combined for 19-30 from the field, shooting nearly 65% from the field. Brugler led with a game-high 25 points, while Ziegler posted her eight double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Foul Play
Scoring nine of her 11 points in the second half, Talya Brugler was held without a free throw in the home loss to Rhode Island. The 0-0 mark from the charity stripe was only the second time this season Brugler was held without a free throw attempt, the first since the season opener against Bucknell. Brugler - who is one of the best in the conference at getting to the foul line - has only had one attempt in her last two games.
 
Down To The Wire
All seven conference losses have been in heartbreaking fashion for the Hawks, all seven having been decided by fewer than six points. Five of the seven losses have been by either one possession or decided in overtime.