SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – In a game that the Hawks never led until overtime, the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team overcame a 14-point deficit before falling, 72-71, to Utah in overtime on Friday evening inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
The Hawks move to 4-1 on the season, ending a 16-game win streak in the month of November.
FIRST QUARTER
- Laura Ziegler and Talya Brugler combined for the first five points of the game, matching the Utes early at 5-5.
- A 6:32 scoreless drought from the Hawks allowed Utah to take an 11-0 run with under a minute remaining.
- Paula Maurina extinguished the drought with 15 seconds remaining as the Hawks ended the first 10 minutes trailing 16-7.
SECOND QUARTER
- The Hawks were held scoreless over the first three minutes, Utah adding to the lead with a pair of baskets before Gabby Casey buried a three from the wing.
- An and-one from freshman Rhian Stokes capped a 7-0 run from the Hawks to cut the deficit to 28-21.
- A step-back jumper from Casey, followed by a pump fake and finish from Ziegler to send her defender in the air, cut the lead to as little as five points with over two minutes to play.
- Ziegler registered her second bucket in just over a minute before both teams were held scoreless. Utah took a 34-27 lead into the break.
THIRD QUARTER
- The Hawks scored five of the first seven points after another triple from Gabby Casey to cut the deficit to 36-32.
- Utah responded with a 10-2 run to push the lead back to 12 points.
- An 8-2 run to finish the quarter, including threes from Ziegler and Kaylie Griffin, gave the Hawks just a six-point deficit to try and overcome in the final frame.
FOURTH QUARTER
- Trailing by 10 with over five minutes remaining, the Hawks began to chip away by route of a 7-0 personal run from Brugler.
- An and-one from Casey, followed by a basket from Ziegler, cut the score to one before Utah responded with a layup under a minute to play.
- Ziegler silenced the crowd with a three on the ensuing possession, tying the game at 63-63 with 30 seconds to play. The Hawk defense answered the call on the other end, earning a stop to force the game into overtime.
OVERTIME
- A pair of free throws from Stokes opened up the scoring in the extra frame, giving St. Joe's its first lead of the game.
- Utah rattled off the next five points before Casey grabbed her 21st point of the night to cut the Ute lead to 70-69.
- With a three-point deficit under 90 seconds to play, the Hawks were able to regain the advantage with a pair of successful trips to the free throw line. Ziegler and Stokes each coolly slotted their freebies to give St. Joe's a 72-71 lead with 24 seconds to play.
- St. Joe's forced a miss from Utah, but the Utes were able to crash the offensive glass and retain possession with 10 seconds to play.
- Mayé Touré was able to get her basket to drop after rattling off the rim, giving Utah a 72-71 lead with four seconds.
- Brugler fought off contact near the rim in the final seconds, the bucket didn't fall as Utah escaped with the 72-71 overtime win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- After scoring a career-high 20 points against Southern Utah, Gabby Casey bested the mark with a 21-point effort in the defeat. Casey added eight rebounds and five assists.
- Laura Ziegler added her fourth double-double of the season, dropping 20 points and 12 rebounds for her 25th double-double of her career.
- Talya Brugler navigated early foul trouble to finish with 14 points, four rebounds and three assists.
- St. Joe's finished 27-62 (.435) from the field and 7-23 (.304) from distance. The Hawks outrebounded Utah 43-36.
- The Hawks had a season-high 24 turnovers in the defeat.
- The seven-point first quarter was the lowest scoring quarter of the season for St. Joe's.
- The loss snapped a 16-game win streak in the month of November, entering unbeaten in the opening month since the 2022-23 season.
- St. Joe's is 16-23 in overtime games since 2001-02.
UP NEXT
St. Joe's returns to Hagan Arena on Wednesday, November 27 to take on Saint Francis in a 3 p.m. matchup.
