PHILADELPHIA – The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team cruised to victory in Atlantic 10 play, propelled by a 22 point, 16 rebound outburst from freshman Laura Ziegler en route to a 67-45 win over VCU on Wednesday night inside Hagan Arena.
 
The Hawks end a two-game losing streak with the win, moving to 16-7 on the year and 6-5 in the Atlantic 10. VCU falls to 7-16 and 4-7 on the season.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Getting to the line early and often, the Hawks scored four of their first six points from the line and left four more hanging to take a 6-4 advantage into the media timeout.
• Laura Ziegler helped deliver an 8-1 run for the Hawks, scoring all eight points after back-to-back triples put the Crimson and Gray up 14-5. The Hawks would go ahead 18-9 after one, scoring 12 of their 18 points in the final 3:42.
• After trading twos to open the second quarter, the Hawks used an 8-0 run over the span of 1:42 to extend the lead to 28-11. Mackenzie Smith and Julia Nyström scored back-to-back triples before Olivia Mullins took the ball straight to the rack uncontested, forcing a VCU timeout.
• Smith added her second triple of the game to close off the eventual 11-0 run before the Rams were able to stop the bleeding.
• The Rams cut the deficit with six-straight points of her own, but Ziegler turned the second quarter into a show. Recording her fifth double-double of the season with 2:15 left in the first half, Ziegler finished the half with her 12^th rebound before putting a defender on skates with a fake pass, knocking down a triple on the Hawks' final possession to head into the break leading 38-19.
• Holding the Rams scoreless through the opening 5:08 of the third quarter, VCU's first bucket broke a combined 8:29 scoreless streak. This allowed the Hawks to go on a combined 12-0 run, extending the lead to 45-19.
• The Hawks outscored the Rams 17-5 over the third frame, an Emirson Devenie triple at the buzzer capping off the run with a 55-24 advantage.
• St. Joe's were able to ride the momentum through the fourth, cruising to a 67-45 victory inside Hagan Arena.

 
GAME NOTES

• Ziegler's big night saw the rookie tie her career-best with 22 points, adding a new career-high in rebounds with 16. The Danish forward recorded her fifth double-double of the season, needing just two quarters to do so after finishing the first half with 15/12.
• Ziegler recorded the fifth 20/15 game in the last 13 seasons for St. Joe's.
• The five points allowed in the third quarter was the fewest the Hawks have allowed all season in a quarter. SJU also held the Rams to just 19 points, two shy of the season-low set against Loyola Chicago.
• The win broke a six-game losing streak over VCU.
• Talya Brugler's 16-game double digit scoring streak came to a close with just five points for the sophomore.
• Olivia Mullins and Katie Jekot combined for 10 assists to pace the offense.
• Mackenzie Smith finished with 11 points and six rebounds on 4-6 shooting. Emirson Devenie and Julia Nyström combined for 13 points from the bench.
• The Hawks nearly eclipsed 50% from the field, finishing 26-53 (49.1%) from the floor and 9-21 (42.9%) from three.
• St. Joe's outrebound VCU 36-30 on the night.

 
UP NEXT

• The Hawks head on the road for a two-game trip, starting with the Dayton Flyers on Saturday, February 11. Tip is slated for 12 p.m.