OLEAN, N.Y. – The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team continued its strong start on the road, cruising to a 65-40 win over St. Bonaventure on Wednesday night inside the Reilly Center.
 
The Hawks are now 18-2 (7-1 Atlantic 10) for just the third time in program history. St. Bonaventure falls to 4-15 on the season, 1-7 in conference play.
 
FIRST QUARTER

• St. Joe's held St. Bonaventure to just 1-7 (14.3 percent) from the field over the first five minutes, allowing the Hawks to run out to a quick 8-2 lead after the first media timeout.
• Mackenzie Smith found a rhythm in the back half of the frame, knocking down three-straight three pointers for the Hawk offense as the Crimson and Gray took a 17-6 lead.
• Smith again called her number to finish through contact with only seconds remaining on the clock, but St. Bonaventure's Dani Haskell buried a half-court shot at the buzzer to cut the deficit to 19-12 after 10 minutes.

 
SECOND QUARTER

• The Hawk defense was the talk of the second quarter, limiting St. Bonaventure to just two points –- a 1-8 (12.5 percent) effort from the field and nine turnovers plaguing the Bonnies.
• After Aleah Snead traded baskets with the Bonnies in the opening minutes, the Hawks tallied a 12-0 run to end the half to extend the lead to 19 at the break.
• Smith continued her strong start with a five-point swing in just six seconds, finishing on an and-one before Chloe Welch forced a turnover in the backcourt and found the junior for a pull up jumper in the paint.
• Freshman Gabby Casey got into the action with a three from the top of the arc before Welch added a bucket of her own.
• Talya Brugler scored her only points of the half in the last minute, held to just 1-3 shooting in the opening half but helping the Hawks push the lead to 33-14 heading into the break.

 
THIRD QUARTER

• St. Joe's opened with the first seven points of the half, extending the run to 19-0. Laura Ziegler was responsible for five of the seven points, also grabbing her 10^th rebound in the span for her fourth-consecutive game with double-digit rebounds.
• The Bonnies used their best offensive stretch midway through the third, going on a 9-0 run to cut the gap to 17 points with two minutes to play.
• Smith broke the run, driving to the basket for her 20^th point of the night. The Hawks went into the final frame with a 46-31 lead.

 
FOURTH QUARTER

• The Hawks responded to the strong closeout of the third for the hosts, delivering 10 straight points over the first five minutes to extend the lead.
• Snead scored six-straight points for St. Joe's to help extend the run to 12-0 before the Bonnies were able to respond.
• Bridget Monaghan, Lizzy Gruber and Kaylie Griffin all scored for the Hawks in the closing stages of the game, St. Joe's winning the 10^th road game of the season in a 65-40 win over St. Bonaventure.

 
GAME NOTES

• Thirteen of Mackenzie Smith's points came in the opening quarter. The Canadian finished with a game-high 20 points on 8-13 shooting. Smith added four steals in the win.
• Laura Ziegler posted her fourth-straight double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Ziegler added four assists to lead the team.
• Aleah Snead tallied a career-high nine points on 4-5 shooting.
• Chloe Welch finished with 10 rebounds and six points. Talya Brugler only scored six points, the first time in 15 conference games being held under double-digits.
• St. Joe's forced 14 steals and 23 turnovers, using that to a 19-6 advantage in turnover points.
• The Hawks dominated the paint with a 32-16 advantage. St. Joe's shot 25-59 from the field (42.4 percent) while limiting St. Bonaventure to 17-46 (37.0 percent) on the night.
• SJU is 10-0 on the road, the most road wins without a loss in the country. It also set a program record for best start on the road, entering the game tied with the 1999-2000 team.
• St. Joe's has won eight-straight against St. Bonaventure.

 
UP NEXT
St. Joe's returns home on the weekend for a matchup with Davidson on Saturday, January 27. Tip is scheduled for 2 p.m.