PHILADELPHIA – The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team opened postseason play with a 69-40 win over UAlbany on Thursday evening inside Hagan Arena, advancing to the second round of the WBIT with the win.
 
The Hawks were led by a balanced performance from Laura Ziegler, the junior finishing with 16 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists. Aleah Snead added 14 points in the win while seniors Talya Brugler and Mackenzie Smith each dropped 11 points on the evening.
 
UAlbany was paced by 22 points from Kayla Cooper, the second-leading scorer all-time for the Great Danes adding seven rebounds and four assists for the visitors. Jessica Tomasetti added eight points in the defeat.
 
Saint Joseph's built an early lead, extending to as many as 11 after making its first three three-pointers of the evening to grow a 15-4 lead. The offense cooled after the media timeout as UAlbany was able to score seven of the next nine points in the frame to cut the deficit to 17-11 at the break.
 
Both teams struggled to find a rhythm to start the second period, combining for seven points in the first six minutes before the Great Danes rattled off an 8-2 run to cut the deficit to three points. St. Joe's responded with the final seven points of the half to take a 31-21 lead into the halftime break.
 
The floodgate opened for the Hawks in the second half through the effort on the glass, recording 16 offensive boards over the final 20 minutes to help yield a lead that stretched to as many as 31 in the closing minutes. The St. Joe's defense allowed just 19 points in the second half, cruising to a 69-40 victory to advance to the second round of the WBIT.
 
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Laura Ziegler finished three assists shy of recording her third triple-double of the year. Ziegler notched her 19^th double-double of the season to tally her 40^th of her career.
• Ziegler has scored double-digits in 30 of 33 games on the season.
• Aleah Snead added nine rebounds to her 14 points, eight of the nine coming on the offensive glass. Snead is just the eighth player in the NCAA this season to register at least eight offensive rebounds in a single game, becoming the first Hawk with at least eight offensive boards since Adashia Franklyn (8) against La Salle on Jan. 28, 2018.
• Talya Brugler (11) recorded her 92^nd game in double figures, while Mackenzie Smith (11) added her 85^th game with double-digit scoring.
• Gabby Casey finished with seven points, adding nine rebounds, four assists and a team-high three steals to balance the stat sheet.
• The Hawks dominated the glass, producing a 53-28 margin in rebounding over the Great Danes. St. Joe's matched a program record against a Division I opponent with 25 offensive rebounds in the win, the first time since the 1992-93 team recorded 25 offensive boards twice in the same year (Delaware – Jan. 2, West Virginia – Mar. 4).
• SJU tallied a program-high 26 offensive rebounds in the season-opening win over Goldey-Beacom.
• St. Joe's produced a 38-16 advantage in points in the paint and a 22-3 advantage in second-chance points.
• The Hawk defense limited UAlbany to just 28.6 percent from the field on 16-56 shooting. The win marks the fourth time that the Hawks allowed 40 points or fewer on the season and the third time the defense limited the opposition to under 30% from the field.
• The 24 wins matches the second-most recorded under head coach Cindy Griffin and trails only last year's program record 28-win season.

 
 
UP NEXT
Saint Joseph's takes on a familiar foe in the second round of the WBIT, hosting Villanova on Sunday, March 23. Tip is slated for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.