PHILADELPHIA – A feat that hasn't been accomplished on Hawk Hill in 9,785 days has now happened twice in the past month after Laura Ziegler registered her second triple-double in the last five games.
 
The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team defeated Howard on Friday afternoon, opening the 29^th annual Hawk Classic presented by Jersey Mike's with a 69-53 victory inside Hagan Arena in front of a crowd of 2,102 for School Day.
 
Four scorers finished in double-digits as St. Joe's improved to 8-2 on the year and will face Charleston in the championship on Saturday afternoon after its 68-62 win over Northwestern on the other side of the bracket. Howard dropped to 6-7 on the season and will take on the Wildcats in Saturday's consolation matchup at 11 a.m.
 
 
FIRST QUARTER

• Talya Brugler started strong for the Hawks, scoring the first eight points of the game for St. Joe's, including two three-pointers.
• Saniyah King answered for Howard with seven quick points, highlighted by an and-one jumper to give Howard an 11-8 lead five minutes in.
• After a nearly three-minute scoring drought, Rhian Stokes hit two free throws to reduce the St. Joe's deficit.
• Stokes scored the final seven points for the Hawks in the quarter, including a three-pointer from the wing and a contested layup to cut the deficit to 16-15 in the closing seconds.

 
 
SECOND QUARTER

• The Hawks opened the quarter with a 9-2 run fueled by three scorers to take a 24-18 lead.
• Stokes continued her hot streak, hitting her second three-pointer after Howard trimmed the lead to three.
• A 2:19 scoreless stretch ended with Laura Ziegler scoring under the basket. Ziegler capped the half with her third basket of the day, giving the Hawks a 34-26 lead at the break.

 
 
THIRD QUARTER

• St. Joe's began the second half with another 9-2 run, pushing its lead to 15 points.
• Howard responded with a 13-3 run, including nine unanswered points, to cut the deficit to 46-42.
• Mackenzie Smith stopped the run with her lone three-pointer of the contest to start a 7-0 personal run to restore a double-digit lead, ending the quarter 53-42 in favor of the Hawks.

 
 
FOURTH QUARTER

• Smith pushed her scoring run to nine-consecutive points to start the fourth, using a backdoor cut to break loose from her defender for a wide-open layup underneath the basket.
• Stokes powered through contact for her 13th point, setting a new career high and giving the Hawks a 13-point lead with five minutes left.
• Back-to-back assists from Ziegler with three minutes to play pushed her to 10 on the afternoon, matching her career-high to give St. Joe's a 65-51 lead. The Danish forward came down with her 10^th rebound on the ensuing defensive possession as the junior closed in on triple-double territory.
• One more was all Ziegler needed as Stokes found her wide open on the baseline, knocking down her 10^th point of the contest to become the first Hawk to achieve the triple-double mark twice in her career.
• A pair of free throws from Stokes and a consolation basket from Howard as time expired gave the Hawks a 69-53 victory in game one of the Hawk Classic.

 
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Talya Brugler matched a game-high 23 points on 10-15 (66.7%) from the field. Brugler added five rebounds in the win.
• Mackenzie Smith scored 16 of her 19 points in the second half, taking just nine field goal attempts while adding a 4-5 performance from the free throw line.
• Rhian Stokes set a career-high with 15 points, surpassing her previous best of 12 against Saint Francis. She shot 4-6 (66.7%) from the field and 5-6 (83.3%) from the line, adding three rebounds and two assists. This marked her third game of her early career with 10+ points.
• Laura Ziegler padded the stat sheet with 11 rebounds and 10 assists to go along with her 10 points, securing a triple-double for the second time this year and the fifth time in program history. Ziegler is the only Hawk to record two triple-doubles in her career, doing so in a span of 24 days. The junior is also the only Hawk in the country with multiple triple-doubles this season, entering the tournament as one of just 11 players in the country to reach the feat.
• Ziegler is 24 points shy of becoming the 31^st Hawk to record 1,000 career points and just three rebounds shy of entering the top 10 in program history.
• The Hawks assisted on 20 of the 27 made baskets, finishing 27-52 (51.9%) from the floor. The 20 assists mark the seventh time this season that St. Joe's has recorded 20+ assists.
• St. Joe's outscored Howard 34-22 in the paint and limited them to 16-56 (28.6%) shooting. Saniyah King accounted for eight of Howard's 16 field goals, scoring a career-high 23 points, while the rest of the team combined for 8-40 from the floor.

 
 
UP NEXT
St. Joe's takes on College of Charleston in the championship game of the Hawk Classic on Saturday afternoon, scheduled for a 1 p.m. tip.