Box Score RICHMOND, Va. – The second-longest active road win streak in the country came to an end on Wednesday evening, the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team falling to VCU 59-48 inside the Siegel Center.
 
The 13-0 road record comes to an end, St. Joe's falling to 24-3 on the season and 13-2 in conference play. VCU continues its strong season, moving to 23-4 on the season, 12-3 in the A-10. The Rams are now 13-1 at home.
 
FIRST QUARTER

• The Hawks quickly fell into a 4-0 deficit to start the game, but Laura Ziegler rattled six consecutive points to put St. Joe's in front.
• After VCU tied the game up at 6-6, Chloe Welch dropped back-to-back triples to double the Hawk advantage.
• Talya Brugler responded with a three of her own after the Rams halved the deficit with an attempt from distance, the Hawks taking a 15-12 advantage into the second quarter.

 
SECOND QUARTER

• After Julia Nyström opened the quarter up with a tough layup under the rim, Mackenzie Smith took over for the Hawks, scoring the team's next seven points to keep St. Joe's up by three at the media timeout.
• Welch built on the Hawk lead with a basket out of the break before Smith buried her second triple of the game. Another triple from Ziegler finished off a 10-0 Hawk run to extend the lead to 32-21.
• Back-to-back jumpers from Chloe Welch, including another at the buzzer and just one allowed field goal over the final 5:51 gave the Hawks a 36-23 lead.

 
THIRD QUARTER

• The hosts came out of the second half with a response, Outscoring the Hawks 11-2 over the first five minutes to cut their deficit to 38-34.
• St. Joe's continued to struggle offensively, finishing the quarter just 1-16 from the field as VCU overtook the Hawks in the closing minutes to hold a 42-40 advantage with 10 minutes to play.

 
FOURTH QUARTER

• A quick basket from Ziegler tied the game up, but VCU's Sarah Te-Biasu tallied back-to-back layups to extend the lead to four.
• Brugler and Nyström each got to the basket with ease for rare baskets by either side over the first five minutes, able to cut the deficit to two points into the final media timeout.
• Despite the persistent defense, the offense couldn't find its first half rhythm as the Hawks stalled to a 59-48 defeat.

 
 
GAME NOTES

• Laura Ziegler led the Hawks with 13 points and 11 rebounds, her 20^th career double-double and 12^th of the season.
• Chloe Welch and Mackenzie Smith add 12 and 10 points, respectively, both recording all their points in the first half.
• Talya Brugler was limited to just seven points from the field, only the sixth time all career that the junior finished in single digits against a conference opponent.
• In the first half, the Hawks were 14-33 (42.4%) from the field and 6-13 (46.2%) from deep. St. Joe's was just 5-29 (17.2%) in the second half, failing to make any of the nine attempts from distance.
• The 30.6% from the field was the worst since the 2021-22 season, ending the joint-longest win streak of Cindy Griffin's tenure at 11 games.
• The Rams overcame a 13-point deficit after the half by shooting well over 50% from the field, finishing 13-23 (56.5%) from the floor in the second half.
• The four points in the third quarter was a season low. St. Joe's is now 23-1 when trailing at the half.
• The Hawks outrebounded VCU 41-34 over the night, winning the battle on the glass over the best team in the conference in rebound margin.

 
 
UP NEXT
The Hawks head back home to take on Rhode Island on Saturday, February 24, celebrating Senior Day prior to the 2 p.m. matchup