PHILADELPHIA – The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team overcame a double-digit deficit, but the Senior Day comeback fell short in a 73-65 defeat to Richmond on Saturday afternoon inside Hagan Arena.
Saint Joseph's (21-8, 12-6 Atlantic 10) was led by
Laura Ziegler with a game-high 21 points as the junior recorded her 18
th double-double of the season as she also added 10 rebounds.
Mackenzie Smith finisehd with 10 points, while
Talya Brugler had eight points and 11 rebounds.
Maggie Doogan and Katie Hill each finished with 13 points to lead the Spiders, while Addie Budnik (12) and Rachel Ullstrom (11) also finished in double-digits for Richmond (26-5, 17-1 Atlantic 10).
The teams traded baskets in the opening frame before a quick 5-0 run for the Spiders in the final 30 seconds gave the visitors a 19-13 lead. Back-to-back-to-back triples from Richmond helped grow the lead to as many as 14 before the Hawks trimmed the deficit to 38-28 headed into the second half.
Richmond kept St. Joe's at bay over the first 10 minutes of the second half, but a 7-0 run from the Hawks cut the Spider advantage to one with eight minutes to play. An and-one from
Mackenzie Smith leveled the game, but the Spiders outscored the Hawks 20-12 over the final six minutes to prevail for their 16
th-consecutive win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Ziegler notched her 27th game with double-digit scoring on the season, tallying her 10th game with at least 20 points. The junior recorded her 39th career double-double in the defeat.
- Brugler recorded her fourth game of the season with at least 10 rebounds and sits nine points shy of moving into third in program history in career points.
- St. Joe's finished 24-68 (35.3 percent) from the field, while its 16.0 percent effort from three (4-25) was the lowest of the season.
- Richmond finished 24-58 from the field for 41.4 percent, tallying a 10-33 (30.3 percent) clip from distance.
- St. Joe's outrebounded Richmond 41-35, converting 16 offensive rebounds to 20 points.
UP NEXT
The Hawks enter the Atlantic 10 Championship with a double-bye, earning the fourth seed after finishing 12-6 in conference play. St. Joe's awaits its opponent in a 1:30 p.m. tip on Friday, March 7.