SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team fought through a 20-point deficit, but were unable to complete the second half comeback as the Hawks fell to Seton Hall, 69-61, in the first round of the WNIT on Thursday evening.

With the loss, the Hawks finish at 20-11 on the season, improving last year's win total by seven en route to the first postseason appearance since the 2017-18 season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• A high scoring opening five minutes, both teams shot above 50% from the field as Seton Hall took a 14-11 lead.
• Out of the break, the Pirates scored 14-straight points before Olivia Mullins cut the drought.
• Lauren Park-Lane went to the free throw line for three shots for the second time of the quarter after being fouled with two second remaining, scoring 19 of Seton Hall's 31 points en route to a 31-13 advantage in the opening quarter.
• Midway through the second quarter, the Hawks used a 7-0 run to cut the defcit to 12 before back-to-back buckets from the Pirates extended the lead to 40-23. Emma Boslet responded with an answer, knocking down a triple from the wing. Seton Hall would tally a pair of free throws with seconds on the clock to take a 42-26 lead into the break.
• Trading free throws on the opening possessions, the Hawks found a rhythm as defense led to offense, a 7-0 Hawk run capped by a Laura Ziegler triple cut the Pirate lead to 10 and forced a Seton Hall timeout.
• The Pirates clawed their lead back to as many as 15, but back-to-back triples from Julia Nyström and Ziegler in the final minute of the third cut the lead to single digits, SJU trailing 55-46 heading into the final frame.
• Four-straight points to start the fourth extended the Hawk run to 10-0, but the Pirates responded through five points from Sidney Cooks to extend the advantage to 60-50.
• Talya Brugler responded with five points of her own before Ziegler and Nyström extended the run to 9-0, the Hawks trailing by just two points with under two minutes to play.
• Park-Lane would head back to the free throw line for her 11th free throw, sinking the pair to give Seton Hall a 65-61 lead. 
• Unable to convert on the other end, the Hawks looked to extend the game at the foul line, but were unable to claw back within a possession.
• In her final time donning the Crimson and Gray, Katie Jekot was subbed out of the game with 10 seconds remaining as the Hawk faithful that made the trip gave her a standing ovation off of the court as the Hawks fell 69-61.

GAME NOTES

• Laura Ziegler posted a team-high 18 points, knocking down a tied-best four threes in the loss. Her lone block pushes her into a tie for 10^th all-time in single season blocks.
• Talya Brugler finished her stellar campaign with a 17-point effort, one rebound shy of a double-double while adding three steals.
• Katie Jekot finishes her career with 1,115 points (19^th) and 446 assists (8^th in program history).
• Olivia Mullins broke a six-game streak without double digit scoring with 10 points, adding five assists on the night.
• Emma Boslet was a perfect 3-3 from the field for nine points, six rebounds and three assists.
• St. Joe's was outrebounded 42-28 on the evening and was on the other end of a 19-10 free throw discrepancy.
• The Hawks shot 23-58 (39.7%) from the field, 8-21 (38.1%) from deep. Seton Hall finished 22-54 (40.7%) from the floor and 9-22 (40.9%) from distance.
• Park-Lane finished with 30 points on the night for Seton Hall after 19 in the first quarter, including 12 of her points coming from the foul line. Cooks posted a 17 point, 10 rebound double-double.