Saint Joseph's (15-7, 5-5 A-10) vs. VCU (7-15, 4-6 A-10)
Wednesday, February 8 | 7:00 p.m. | Hagan Arena | Philadelphia, Pa.
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GAMEDAY LINKS
Saint Joseph's: Roster | Schedule | Stats | Game Notes
VCU: Roster | Schedule | Stats | Game Notes

PHILADELPHIA - The Saint Joseph's Hawks return home to Hagan Arena on Wednesday afternoon, hosting its first Atlantic 10 matchup in two weeks when welcoming VCU to Hawk Hill. The Hawks will also be hosting its annual Play4Kay game.

Fans are encouraged to wear pink and will receive a pink ribbon upon entry to the arena. Donations can be made directly to the Kay Yow Foundation by clicking here.

After a two-week hiatus from Hawk Hill, the Hawks return to the comforts of Hagan Arena after a two-game road trip in Atlantic 10 play, hosting the VCU Rams on Wednesday evening. St. Joe's are coming off back-to-back overtime defeats, a 94-90 loss to Richmond before a 77-73 double-overtime loss to league-leaders Rhode Island. Overall, the Hawks have dropped five of their last six, looking to right the ship on Wednesday.

SJU gave as good as a fight as any in the A-10 have this season against Rhode Island, battling on the road before running out of gas in the double overtime period en route to the defeat.The game against Rhode Island marked the first time since 2014-15 that the Hawks played in consecutive overtime games, and the first 2OT game since 2010-11. SJU falls to 22-27 overall in games that go to overtime, including 14-19 under Cindy Griffin. The game against Rhody was the fifth in program history to go beyond a single overtime frame, the Hawks falling to 3-2 in those games.

Talya Brugler played all 50 minutes in the loss, recording a game-high 24 points to pace the Hawks. The sophomore forward also added six rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Laura Ziegler shined with eight points and 13 rebounds in 49 minutes of action, tying her career-best of six assists. Mackenzie Smith has scored 53 points in her last two games with 15 against the Rams, while Katie Jekot added eight points and eight rebounds to her season totals.

Scouting The Rams
VCU enters the matchup with a 7-16 record, 4-6 in the Atlantic 10. Starting 2-5 in conference play, a two-win streak was interrupted this past weekend after suffering a narrow 66-63 defeat on the road against Duquesne. The Rams hosted Loyola-Chicago and La Salle prior to that, holding each opponent to 50 or fewer points - including a season-best 38 points allowed to the Explorers. The Rams have struggled on the road this season, the only win in nine tries prior to Wednesday's matchup coming in conference play in a 54-51 victory over Richmond.

The Rams are led by junior guard Sarah Te-Biasu, who has averaged 10+ points in all three seasons for VCU. Te-Biasu has increased her average to 16.1 points per game this season, also leading the Rams in assists (55) and steals (39). Janika Griffith-Wallace ranks second amongst the squad in points per game (8.2), rebounds per game (4.2), assists (35) and steals (31).

Block Party
The Hawks, led by Laura Ziegler, were a menace to the Rhode Island Rams in double overtime defeat. SJU finished with 10 blocks on the night, the first time since January 14, 2007 against Richmond that a St. Joe's team swatted at least 10 shots. The rookie led the Hawks, besting her previous-high of five in a game, with seven blocks against the Rams. The effort upped her average from 1.2 to 1.5 blocks per game, becoming the first Hawk since Samira van Grinsven's seven blocks against Providence on November 12, 2012.

Overtime Woes
In back-to-back games, 40 minutes has not been enough to separate the Hawks and their opponents. For the first time since the 2014-15 season, SJU has played in two-straight overtime games. The double overtime loss to Rhode Island was the first 2OT contest since a 70-61 win over Princeton in the 2010-11 season. The Hawks are 14-19 overall under Cindy Griffin in overtime games, 22-27 in the history of the program.

Toe-To-Toe
Currently sitting in sixth in the A-10 standings, the Hawks have fought pound for pound with the top of the conference. Despite only being 2-4 in games against teams 1-5 in the league standings, SJU holds a +5 scoring margin over the six games. All four losses have been by six points or less, two being one possession scores and one an overtime game against undefeated in conference Rhode Island.

Give Me A Break
In the double-overtime defeat to Rhode Island, Talya Brugler played all 50 minutes against the Rams. The sophomore became just the second player this season to play every minute. Brugler tallied 24 points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Laura Ziegler played all but 1:14 in the loss, recording eight points, 13 rebounds and six assists.