RICHMOND, Va. – The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team fell in a 57-50 defensive battle on the road to VCU on Sunday afternoon inside of the Siegel Center.
Saint Joseph's (12-4, 3-2 Atlantic 10) was led by 19 points from
Laura Ziegler.
Mackenzie Smith scored 12 points, while
Talya Brugler scored in double-digits with 10 points on the afternoon.
Mary-Anna Asare scored a game-high 26 points for VCU (9-8, 3-2 Atlantic 10), Valentina Ojeda joining as the only other Ram in double-digit scoring with 17 points. Mykel Parham finished with a career-high 17 rebounds.
Both teams shot under 30% from the field in the opening half, St. Joe's leading by as many as five points before taking a 22-20 lead into the halftime break. The Hawks used a 7-0 run midway through the third quarter to build a six-point lead before a 9-2 run to end the quarter gave the Rams a one-point lead.
St. Joe's trailed by three with under four minutes remaining before a catch-and-shoot triple from Valentina Ojeda pushed the Ram advantage to two possessions. The Hawks were unable to claw within one possession, succumbing to the second-consecutive defeat.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Ziegler scored a team-high 19 points, recording eight rebounds, three blocks and two assists.
- Smith tallied 12 points to go along with her six rebounds.
- Brugler finished with her third double-double of the season and eighth of her career, adding 11 rebounds to her 10 points. Brugler added three steals in the defeat.
- Emma Boslet registered six of the Hawks' 10 assists, a season-low for St. Joe's.
- The 50 points scored by the Hawks is a season-low, only the second time this season that St. Joe's was held under 60 points.
- St. Joe's finished 17-54 (31.5%) from the floor, now 2-2 in the four games shooting under 35% from the field.
- The loss marks the first time with back-to-back defeats since the end of the 2022-23 season.
UP NEXT
The Hawks return to Hawk Hill for a midweek matchup with Fordham on Wednesday, January 15. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside Hagan Arena.
