PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Talya Brugler scored 13 of her game-high 21 points in the first half, leading the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team to a 68-57 win over Penn in Big 5 action on Friday evening inside of The Palestra.
 
The Hawks move to 3-0 (1-0 Big 5) on the season, the third consecutive year that St. Joe's started the campaign with a 3-0 record.
 
FIRST QUARTER

• Mackenzie Smith opened with the first five points of the game to give the Hawks an early lead.  The senior drained a triple on the first possession of the game before finishing off a fastbreak opportunity for a quick 5-0 start.
• The next seven points for St. Joe's belonged to Talya Brugler, who knocked down a three after a pair of buckets in the paint to help establish a 12-4 advantage in the opening four minutes.
• Back-to-back triples from Penn's Katie Collins cut the host's deficit to two before Smith countered with her second three-pointer of the game to put St. Joe's up 15-10 at the media timeout.
• Brugler and Smith combined for 20 of the 22 points for the Hawks in the opening frame, taking a 22-16 lead into the second quarter.

 
SECOND QUARTER

• Brugler continued her strong start with the first four points of the stanza, helping the Hawks to a 10-point lead and forcing Penn to take its first timeout.
• Penn cut the Hawk advantage to as little as five before triples from Kaylie Griffin and Laura Ziegler sandwiched a Quaker basket to push the lead back to 34-25.
• A dish from Brugler to Ziegler with 30 seconds remaining ended the first half as St. Joe's took a 39-29 lead into the break.

 
THIRD QUARTER

• After finishing the scoring in the first half, Ziegler started the action in the second half as well after connecting from 15 feet for the first basket of the third quarter.
• Gabby Casey opened her account with a step back three before finding a pinpoint pass to Brugler under the basket to increase the Hawk lead to 46-32.
• A 6-0 run from the hosts cut the deficit to single digits before Paula Maurina slipped a pass from the elbow to Brugler to end the Quaker run.
• Penn reduced the deficit to 52-43 heading into the final 10 minutes.

 
 
FOURTH QUARTER

• Sarah Miller gave Penn early momentum in the fourth after burying a triple in the opening minute to reduce the Hawk advantage to six.
• Brugler quickly countered with a fastbreak layup after the Hawks beat the ensuing press. The next possession, Brugler found Ziegler at the wing to knock down the triple and force a Penn timeout.
• The Hawks continued the run on the other end to the tune of 11-0 to build the largest lead of the night at 63-46.
• Back-to-back three-point plays from Penn's Mataya Gayle cut the deficit back down to 11, but the Hawks continued to respond. Casey drove to the basket and finished in the paint while drawing a foul, the three-point play capping off a 5-0 spurt for the Hawks to seal the win with under two minutes to play.
• Penn scored the final five consolation points as the Hawks stepped off the Palestra floor with a 68-57 victory.

 
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Talya Brugler finished with 21 points on the evening while adding 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season and the seventh of her career.
• Laura Ziegler joined Brugler with a double-double (23^rd of her career) of her own, finishing three assists shy of a triple-double after recording 16 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high seven assists.
• Ziegler has now averaged 15.0 points and 11.3 rebounds per game in her three appearances against the Quakers.
• Brugler and Ziegler's double-doubles mark the first time since the 2017-18 season that the Hawks have had multiple players earn a double-double at least twice in one season.
• Mackenzie Smith moved into 18^th in program history in scoring (1,187), surpassing Michelle Baker (2008-12) with her 11 points on the evening. All 11 of Smith's points came in the first quarter.
• Gabby Casey was the fourth Hawk to eclipse double-digits, finishing with 10 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists.
• The Hawks shot 23-61 (.377) from the floor and 8-20 (.400) from deep. St. Joe's finished 14-15 from the free throw line for a 93.3% clip.
• St. Joe's assisted on 20 of its 23 made baskets while outrebounding Penn, 43-31.
• Stina Almqvist finished with team-highs for Penn in points (21), rebounds (9) and assists (3).
• The Hawks are now 44-5 all-time against Penn, winners of the last four games.
• St. Joe's has won eight of its last nine Big 5 contests dating back to the 2022-23 campaign.

 
 
UP NEXT
St. Joe's heads west for a two-game trip in Utah, starting with a matchup against Southern Utah on Wednesday, November 20. Tip is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET, 6:30 p.m. local time on ESPN+.