Women's Basketball Welcomes UAlbany in First Round of WBIT

3/19/2025 5:14:00 PM

Saint Joseph's (23-9, 12-6 A-10) vs. UAlbany (26-6, 14-2 America East)

AT THE TIP

The Hawks open the first round of the WBIT, hosting UAlbany inside Hagan Arena on Thursday evening.
St. Joe's earned wins over Rhode Island and Richmond to advance to the championshio game of the Atlantic 10 Tournament before falling to George Mason.
The Hawks were selected as a No. 1 seed in the WBIT.

LAST TIME OUT

Saint Joseph's rallied from a 19-point fourth-quarter deficit to make it a two-possession game late, but George Mason held off the Hawks' comeback for a 73-58 victory in the title game of the 2025 Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball Championship at Henrico Sports and Events Center on Sunday afternoon.
Mackenzie Smith led the Hawks with 19 points and added four rebounds, while Laura Ziegler finished with 18 points, seven assists and four boards, and Talya Brugler chipped in with 10 points and a team-best six rebounds. Smith and Ziegler were named to the A-10 All-Championship Team for their play throughout the conference postseason tournament.

HAWK NOTES

St. Joe's has made postseason appearances in each of the last three seasons, including back-to-back appearances in the WBIT.
Laura Ziegler has scored in double-digits in 29 of her 32 games this season, entering Thursday with 39 career double-doubles.
Smith has registered 17 games this season with 15+ points, leading the conference in three point shooting at 42.3 percent (min. 2 made per game).
Both Ziegler and Smith were named to the Atlantic 10 All-Tournament Team. They both rank in the top 10 in scoring in the Atlantic 10 with 17.5 and 14.5 points per game, respectively.. Ziegler also ranks second in rebounding (10.4) and is fourth in assists per game (4.1).
Aleah Snead was named Atlantic 10 Sixth Woman of the Year, averaging 8.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game in A-10 play
The Hawks are 20th in the NCAA as a team in assist/turnover ratio (1.24) and register 17.0 assists per game.
St. Joe's enters allowing opponents to just 56.8 points per game, ranking 30th in the country.

MILESTONE MARKS

Talya Brugler sits third all-time in program history in scoring, surpassing 1,700 points in her career with her 10-point effort in the A-10 championship game.
Laura Ziegler ranks fifth all-time in program history with 894 career rebounds and is sixth with 98 career blocks. Ziegler's 1,368 points ranks 11th in school history.
Mackenzie Smith became the third Hawk on the roster to record 500 career rebounds at Rhode Island, joining Talya Brugler and Ziegler. Smith's 120 career starts put her in fourth all-time in program history and her 127 appearances are tied for third-most. Mackenzie Smith ranks seventh in school history with 1,594 career points.

SERIES REWIND