PHILADELPHIA – The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team stays in the city Monday night, heading to The Palestra for a Big 5 matchup with Penn as the Hawks look to extend their early-season momentum.
 
Saint Joseph's (4-1) at Penn (4-1)
Date: Monday, November 24
Time: 6:00 p.m. ET
Site: Philadelphia, Pa. | The Palestra
TV: ESPN+ (Dan Fritz)
Series History: Saint Joseph's leads 44-5 (16-3 home, 26-2 away, 1-0 neutral, 1-0 unknown designation)
 
SAINT JOSEPH'S    SCHEDULE | ROSTER | STATS | GAME NOTES
PENN                        SCHEDULE | ROSTER | STATS
 
 
OPENING TIP
Saint Joseph's opened its two-game Ivy League slate with a 66-48 win at Columbia on Thursday, bouncing back from its first loss of the season to improve to 4-1. The Hawks are now 21-2 in November since the start of the 2022-23 campaign.
 
Gabby Casey led the Hawks with 17 points, scoring 16 of them in the second half. She has reached double figures in all five games. Aleah Snead added 16 points, while Rhian Stokes finished one point shy of a career high with 14.
 
The Hawk defense responded after allowing 89 points and nearly 60 percent shooting to Penn State, holding Columbia nearly 30 points below its season average and limiting the Lions to just 33.3 percent from the field.
 
Columbia finished 0-for-14 from three, marking the second-most attempts without a make by an SJU opponent. Only St. Bonaventure (0-for-15 on Jan. 26, 2013) attempted more without converting. It was also the first time an opponent was held without a three since VCU on Feb. 8, 2023.
 
 
SHARING IS CARING
As of Sunday morning, the Hawks rank second in the country with a 77.3 percent assist rate, recording assists on 92 of their 119 field goals through the first five games. Only Northwestern (77.5%) holds a higher mark.
 
 
DISRUPTING POWER
Saint Joseph's has recorded a Power Five win in each of the past four seasons, defeating Vanderbilt (2022-23), California (2023-24), Syracuse (2024-25) and Cincinnati (2025-26).
 
 
ABOUT ST. JOE'S
The Hawks replace four players from last year's starting lineup. Only Gabby Casey (33) entered the season having started seven or more games last year. Aleah Snead (6), Rhian Stokes (4) and Kaylie Griffin (1) also made starts in 2024-25.
 
Saint Joseph's has 15 players on the 2025-26 roster, representing four states and four countries excluding the United States. Amar Mansour (Lebanon) and Emirson Devenie (Australia) are the first Hawks to represent those countries, while Meja Jägerskog (Sweden) and Olivia Lutterodt (Denmark) are each the second player to join the program from their respective countries.
 
Eight newcomers joined the Hawks over the offseason, four coming by way of the transfer portal while Coach Griffin and company signed four freshmen to the team. Jill Jekot (Penn State), Cecilia Kay (American), Amar Mansour (Missouri Baptist) and Faith Stinson (IU Indy) transferred in to Hawk Hill, while Lutterodt, Kaylinn Bethea, Rian Dotsey and Emily Knouse will all make their debut in 2025-26.
 
 
SERIES HISTORY
Saint Joseph's enters on a five-game win streak and holds a 44-5 all-time record against Penn as the teams meet for the 50th time. The Hawks are 26-2 at the Palestra and have won 18 of 23 matchups against the Quakers under head coach Cindy Griffin.