HENRICO, Va. – The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team enters the Atlantic 10 Tournament on Friday evening, taking on the winner of #6 Rhode Island/#11 Dayton in the quarterfinals.
GAME INFORMATION: #3 St. Joe's vs. #6 Rhode Island/#11 Dayton
DATE/TIME: Friday, March 8 | 7:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Henrico Sports and Events Center | Henrico, Va.
LIVE STATS: Click Here
LIVE STREAM: ESPN+
LAST TIME OUT
• The Hawks capped off the regular season with an emphatic win over Duquesne in Pittsburgh to guarantee a double-bye in the Atlantic 10 Tournament, defeating the Dukes 77-73.
• Trailing at the half for just the fifth time on the season, the Hawks came out of the gate with a 13-0 midway through the third quarter to jump to a nine-point lead heading into the fourth. The Hawks increased the lead to as many as 16, a late flurry from the Dukes never getting into a single possession as St. Joe's earned its sixth consecutive victory over Duquesne.
• Ziegler set a career-high 27 points on the day with 12 rebounds for her 21st double-double of her career, while
Mackenzie Smith added 24 points as the two combined for 9-10 from the three.
Julia Nyström tied her career-high with seven assists in the win.
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.
CHASING HISTORY
• The 2023-24 squad tied the 1996-97 team that set the program record for wins in a season, looking to earn their 27th win of the season in the A-10 quarterfinals.
• The 26 wins on a season is the most under Head Coach
Cindy Griffin, previously recording a best of 24 wins in her first year on Hawk Hill in 2001-02.
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 Hawks are 59-13 all-time against Rhode Island, the most wins over any school in program history. St. Joe's won both matchups this year against the Rams.
• The Hawks hold a 15-21 record against Dayton, one of just two A-10 schools that the Crimson and Gray have a losing record against.
SAINT JOSEPH'S | Roster | Schedule | Stats
•
Mackenzie Smith has scored double digits in 14 of her last 16 games and became the 30
th Hawk to reach 1,000 career points against Dayton. Smith moved to 23
rd all-time in scoring after 24 points against Duquesne.
•
Talya Brugler sits at third in the A-10 in points per game (16.0) pacing the conference with the best shooting percentage of 54.0%.
•
Laura Ziegler posted a career-high 27 points against Duquesne, adding 12 rebounds and six assists to her performance.
• Brugler (79) and Ziegler (77) 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 sixth-best scoring defense in the country by allowing just 54.0 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 (325-400), the mark good for third in the NCAA. St. Joe's ranks first among Atlantic 10 teams in FT%. The 17-17 effort against Rhode Island was the best since an 18-18 performance against La Salle on February 17, 2019.
• St. Joe's has made the Atlantic 10 Championship game both times under Coach Griffin as a #3 seed, falling both times in the finals.