Joe Schneyder '12/Say Cheeze Studios

Women's Basketball Hosts Villanova in WBIT Second Round

3/22/2025 4:16:00 PM

Saint Joseph's (24-9, 12-6 A-10) vs. Villanova (19-14, 11-7 Big East)

Sunday, March 23 • 2:00 p.m.

Hagan Arena • Philadelphia, Pa. • ESPN+

	Saint Joseph's	Villanova
ESPN	Game Notes	Game Notes
Live Stats	Schedule	Schedule
	Roster	Roster
Tickets	Stats	Stats

AT THE TIP

For the second time in as many seasons, Saint Joseph's and Villanova meet in the postseason as the Hawks host the Wildcats on Sunday in the second round of the WBIT.
St. Joe's opened the WBIT with a dominant display in a 69-40 rout over UAlbany on Thursday, while Villanova outlasted Boston College in a 76-70 victory.
The Hawks were selected as a No. 1 seed in the WBIT.

LAST TIME OUT

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.
After building a 10-point lead at the 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.
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.

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 30 of her 33 games this season, entering Sunday with 40 career double-doubles.
Smith has registered 17 games this season with 15+ points, entering postseason leading the conference in three point shooting at 42.3 percent (min. 2 made per game).
They both rank in the top 10 in scoring in the Atlantic 10 with 17.5 and 14.4 points per game, respectively.. Ziegler also ranks second in rebounding (10.5) and is fourth in assists per game (4.2).
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 sophomore added 14 points and nine rebounds - eight offensive - in the win over UAlbany. 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.
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 56.3 points per game, ranking 25th in the country.
Ziegler is one of two Hawks in program history with 500+ points, 300+ rebounds and 100+ assists in a single season.
The 24 wins match the second-most in the Cindy Griffin era, tying the 2001-02 team that finished 24-8. The mark trails only last year's program record 28-win season.
The Hawks recorded a season-high 53 rebounds in the win over UAlbany, tying a program record against Division I opposition of 25 offensive rebounds. The 53 rebounds match the most by the Hawks in a single-game since the 1981-82 season, only achieved one other time in a win against La Salle (Jan. 8, 2021).

MILESTONE MARKS

Talya Brugler sits third all-time in program history in scoring, entering Sunday with 1,718 career points.
Laura Ziegler ranks fifth all-time in program history with 907 rebounds, one shy of Susan Moran (1998-02) for fourth place all-time. Ziegler's 1,384 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 121 career starts put her in fourth all-time in program history and her 128 appearances are third-most. Mackenzie Smith ranks seventh in school history with 1,605 career points.

SERIES REWIND

Sunday's meeting between the teams will be the 52nd in series history. Prior to last year, all of the first 50 matchups between the Hawks and Wildcats were in regular season play.
Villanova got the better of the Hawks in the quarterfinals of last season's inaugural WBIT with a 67-59 win inside Finneran Pavilion, splitting the season series after the Hawks earned the Big 5 title after beating the Wildcats 73-67 inside Hagan Arena in the regular season.
The Hawks hold a 17-8 record inside of Hagan Arena after falling to Villanova earlier this season. Jasmine Bascoe and Maddie Webber combined for 44 points in the meeting, Mackenzie Smith leading the Hawks with 18 points in the defeat.

Print Friendly Version