PHILADELPHIA – A 20-point lead after the opening quarter helped the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team cruise to an 83-56 victory over St. Bonaventure on Wednesday evening inside Hagan Arena.
 
Mackenzie Smith led all scorers with 20 points, while Laura Ziegler added 17 points and 15 rebounds in the win. Rhian Stokes and Gabby Casey each finished with 13 points.
 
Zoe Shaw tallied 19 points for the Bonnies, adding four assists. Hannah Richardson recorded 10 points, while Dani Haskell added eight points and nine rebounds.
 
Saint Joseph's (15-4, 6-2 Atlantic 10) opened the game on a 13-0 run, scoring 22 of the 24 points in the first quarter. The lead over St. Bonaventure (5-14, 1-7 Atlantic 10) ballooned to as many as 27 points near the end of the first half before taking a 41-15 lead into the break.
 
The Hawks built the advantage to as many as 37 points in the final minutes of the third quarter, cruising to an 83-56 win to grab their third-consecutive win.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Smith's 20 points came on just 12 attempts from the field, shooting 3-5 (60.0%) from three and a perfect 3-3 from the free throw line.
• Ziegler added six assists and two steals to her 17 points and 15 rebounds. The junior registered her 14^th double-double of the season and 35^th of her career. Ziegler entered the game ranked fifth in the country in rebounds (11.7) and first in NCAA in defensive rebounds (9.8).
• Stokes tallied back-to-back games with double-digits on the season after 11 points at Massachusetts. The freshman added a career-high four assists in the win.
• Casey finished with 10+ points for the ninth time this season, more than doubling the number of double-digit games the sophomore scored in her rookie season.
• In three career starts, Aleah Snead has averaged just under 10 points per game after finishing with nine points, four rebounds and two assists on the night.
• Paula Maurina scored a season-high nine points on 4-5 shooting from the field.
• Kaylie Griffin tied a career-high with four assists while setting a new mark three rebounds.
• The Hawks finished 33-60 (55.0%) from the field, the eighth game shooting above 50% on the year. St. Joe's recorded an 8-20 (40.0%) clip from distance while outrebounding St. Bonaventure 34-24.
• The eight turnovers are a season-low for the Hawks.
• St. Joe's finished with 20 assists for the ninth time this season.
• Despite shooting just 1-11 (9.1%) in the opening quarter, the Bonnies finished 23-55 (41.8%) from the field.
• The two points allowed in the first quarter was the lowest output by an opponent since the Hawks held St. Bonaventure to just two points in the second quarter of last year's matchup.
• The nine-game win streak over St. Bonaventure is the longest active win streak for the Hawks over a single program.

 
UP NEXT
The Hawks return to Hagan Arena on Saturday, January 25 to host La Salle. Tip is scheduled for 2 p.m.