BERKELEY, Calif. – The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team heads west to meet California in the second round of the WBIT on Sunday afternoon.

GAME INFORMATION: St. Joe's at California
DATE/TIME: Sunday, March 24 | 4:00 p.m. ET, 1:00 p.m. PT
LOCATION: Haas Pavilion | Berkeley, Calif.
LIVE STATS: Click Here
LIVE STREAM: ESPN+
TICKETS: Click Here

 
LAST TIME OUT
• St. Joe's opened the inaugural WBIT with a first round victory, surviving in a physical matchup as the Hawks took down Seton Hall in a 54-47 contest to exact revenge on the Pirates, who knocked SJU out in the WNIT a year ago.
• Falling into an early 9-0 hole, the Hawks overcame the deficit to take the lead in the second quarter and into the half with a 28-26 advantage. St. Joe's built the lead to as many as eight points before Seton Hall came roaring back in the final frame. The Hawk defense clamped the Pirates, allowing just two points over the final five minutes to surge to a seven-point victory.
• The Hawks were led by a 15-point effort from junior Mackenzie Smith, who also matched team-highs with eight rebounds and three assists. Talya Brugler added 11 points and a career-high five blocks, while Chloe Welch was the third Hawk in double figures with 10 points.

 
ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
• For the second time in as many years, the Hawks placed three players on the Atlantic 10 All-Conference Teams. Laura Ziegler (1st), Talya Brugler (2nd) and Mackenzie Smith (2nd) made the team in back-to-back seasons after becoming the first trio in nearly 20 years for St. Joe's to earn all-conference nods.
• Ziegler joined Brugler and Natasha Cloud as the only other Hawks in the last decade to make the First Team.
• Ziegler was also added to the All-Defensive Team, while Brugler earned All-Academic distinction.
 
 
MAKING HISTORY
• With the win over Dayton, the Hawks moved to 23-2 on the season, the first time in the 50+ year history that St. Joe's held just two losses after 25 games.
• The Hawks are guaranteed to record fewer than 10 losses on the season for just the third time in 23 years under Coach Griffin and just the 15th time since 1981-82.
• The 2023-24 squad surpassed the 1996-97 team that set the program record for wins in a season, looking to earn their 28th win of the season in the second round of the WBIT.
• Since 1981-82, the Hawks' best season came through the 1996-97 team that finished with an 83.9% win percentage after a 26-5 season.

 
TWO HAWKS EARNING NATIONAL ATTENTION
• Talya Brugler and Laura Ziegler were named to the USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale Award and All-America Watch List, two of 40 to be selected and one of 11 pairs of teammates to earn the accolades.

 
SERIES HISTORY
• The two teams meet for the first time in program history on Sunday afternoon.
• The Hawks are 6-8 all-time against the Pac-12, entering the 15^th matchup against the conference. All six wins have come in Philadelphia, St. Joe's looking for its first road win.

 
SAINT JOSEPH'S | Roster | Schedule | Stats | Game Notes
• St. Joe's enters its 26th postseason appearance, the 14th under the direction of head coach Cindy Griffin. Griffin has two NCAA appearances and 11 WNIT appearances in her tenure on Hawk Hill.
• The Hawks are 16-25 all-time in the postseason, nine of the 16 wins coming during the Griffin era.
• Talya Brugler leads the conference with a 54.3% shooting percentage among qualified players, entering the matchup with the Golden Bears with 15.7 points per game.
• Brugler (79) and Ziegler (79) lead the Hawks in assists, combining for 18 games with at least four assists.
• St. Joe's is one of the stingiest defenses in the country, entering the matchup with the fifth-best scoring defense in the country by allowing just 53.9 points per game.
• The Hawks hold one of the top percentages from the free throw line. SJU has knocked down 81.3% of its attempts (343-422), the mark good for third in the NCAA. St. Joe's ranks first among Atlantic 10 teams in FT%.
 
 
CALIFORNIA | Roster | Schedule | Stats | Game Notes
• California enters the game with a 19-14 record, the most wins under head coach Charmin Smith and the most for Cal since the 2018-19 season. The key to the success has come through its defense, an unblemished 16-0 record when holding opponents to under 60 points per game. On the other end, the Golden Bears have set a program record with 275 three-pointers on the season.
• The Golden Bears are led by graduate guard Ioanna Krimili, who was an All-Pac-12 honorable mention. Krimili averages 13.1 points per game and is a danger from deep, connecting on 39.3% of attempts from distance. The Greek guard is just one of three players over the last three seasons to average 17.0 points and 39.9% from three over that span. McIntosh adds a variety of ways to hurt the opponent, including 162 assists on the year to lead the team (2^nd in the Pac-12). McIntosh is one of four players in the country to average at least 10.0 points, 4.9 assists, 1.5 steals and shoot 40% from three in the nation. Cal also has received a strong boost from Pac-12 All-Freshman Team honorable mention Lulu Laditan-Twidale, who comes off the bench for the Golden Bears for 6.3 points per game.