Women's Basketball Hosts Loyola Chicago on Super Bowl Sunday

2/8/2025 12:00:00 PM

Saint Joseph's (19-4, 10-2 A-10) vs. Loyola Chicago (11-12, 3-9 A-10)

AT THE TIP

The Hawks close out a homestand on Super Bowl Sunday, hosting Loyola Chicago inside Hagan Arena at 1 p.m.
St. Joe's is 3-2 on days that the Philadelphia Eagles play, while the Eagles are 5-0 in said games.
St. Joe's matched its largest win streak of the season as the Hawks enter Sunday's matchup with seven-consecutive victories.

LAST TIME OUT

Laura Ziegler scored 19 of her game-high 27 points in the first half to help lead Saint Joseph's to its seventh-consecutive victory, defeating Saint Louis 69-49 on Wednesday evening inside Hagan Arena.
St. Joe's traded an 8-0 spurt for an 11-0 Billiken run as the visitors took a first quarter lead. St. Joe's used a 28-point second quarter, scoring the final seven points, to grow a 44-25 lead at the half. The Hawk defense forced the Billikens into eight turnovers while giving up just 24 points on 36.0 percent shooting in the second half, helping St. Joe's keep its distance in a 69-49 victory.
Ziegler led the Hawks with her 27 points, adding 10 rebounds for her 17th double-double of the season. Mackenzie Smith added 17 points, while Aleah Snead continued to shine in the starting lineup with 13 points and eight rebounds.

HAWK NOTES

Laura Ziegler was named to the USBWA's Ann Meyers Drysdale Player of the Year Award Watch List this week.
The Danish forward has scored 10+ points in 22 of 23 games this season after a 27-point, 10-rebound outing against Saint Louis. The junior is second all-time in program history with 38 double-doubles in her career.
Ziegler ranks fifth in the country with 11.8 rebounds per game, while her 10.1 defensive boards per contest leads the NCAA.
Mackenzie Smith and Talya Brugler were named to the watch list for the 2025 Women's College All-Star Game presented by Herbalife, which is awarded to players in their final years of eligibility.
Smith has registered 13 games this season with 15+ points.
Ziegler and Smith rank in the top 10 in scoring in the conference, and Smith currently third in A-10 in three-point percentage (43.3 percent).
St. Joe's shoots 35.9 percent from three on the season, ranking 28th in the NCAA.
The Hawks are 21st in the NCAA as a team in assist/turnover ratio (1.28), and 23rd with 17.9 assists per game. Both rank second in A-10.
St. Joe's enters allowing opponents to just 54.6 points per game, leading the conference and ranking 15th in the country. The Hawks have held opponents under 50 points in each of the last three games.

MILESTONE MARKS

Laura Ziegler ranks fifth all-time in program history with 833 career rebounds and is tied for sixth with 95 career blocks. Ziegler's 1,213 points ranks 18th in school history.
Aleah Snead recorded career-highs in points (22), field goals made (9), field goals attempted (12) and steals (5) in the past three games.
Kaylie Griffin set a career-high with six assists in 16 minutes against Saint Louis, besting her previous high of four that she set four times.
Mackenzie Smith is 12 rebounds shy of becoming the third player on the team to reach 500 career rebounds, Laura Ziegler and Talya Brugler the 23rd and 24th Hawk in program history to reach 500 rebounds in their career.
Brugler is 25 points shy of entering top five in program history in scoring, while Mackenzie Smith ranks 10th in school history with 1,428 career points.

SERIES REWIND

Entering the fourth matchup between the two teams in program history, the Hawks are currently undefeated against the Ramblers.
The first meeting between the two came in the 1993-94 season, as St. Joe's opened the series with a 39-point victory.
Loyola Chicago is in its third season in the Atlantic 10 after joining prior to the 2022-23 season.
The Hawks have a 16.5 win margin in A-10 play, including an 11-point win in their first game against Loyola Chicago on the road last season.