WASHINGTON, D.C. – Saint Joseph's sophomore Aleah Snead earned Sixth Woman of the Year, while a trio of Hawk standouts garnered Atlantic 10 All-Conference honors, the conference office announced on Tuesday afternoon.
 
Snead became the third Hawk to earn Atlantic 10 Sixth Woman of the Year honors, joining Chelsea Woods (2016-17) and Ashley Prim (2010-11) for the third honor in the last 15 seasons. The Hawks tallied three all-conference nods in each of the last three seasons as Laura Ziegler, Mackenzie Smith and Talya Brugler each made their third appearance on an all-conference team.
 
Snead has quickly become a pivotal piece in the rotation in her sophomore campaign, the Philly native more than doubling her minutes (21.1), points (6.9) and rebounds (3.6) from her rookie season in 2023-24. Snead has also recorded career-highs with 33 assists, 23 steals and 10 blocks. The sophomore has provided a consistent scoring presence on the year by registering nine games with at least 10 points while shooting at a 54.8 percent clip from the field. Snead's best game of the season came in a 22-point breakout performance at Davidson where she made nine of her 12 field goal attempts. Snead made six starts in the absence of Brugler, bumping her totals to 12.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game in her time in the starting rotation. In conference play, Snead has averaged 8.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game with nearly a 60 percent field goal percentage.
 
Ziegler has been named to the First Team in back-to-back seasons, earning All-Conference honors in all three of her seasons on Hawk Hill. The junior was also recently named a semifinalist for the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award and is on the USBWA National Player of the Year Watch List. Additionally, Ziegler has been named twice as a USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week and earned a pair of nods to the NCAA Starting Lineup of the Week and the AP Player of the Week Honorable Mention. A native of Herlev, Denmark, Ziegler has tallied career highs in points (18.1), rebounds (10.8) and assists (4.1) this season to become the third Hawk in program history – the first since 1992-93 - to record 500+ points, 200+ rebounds and 100+ assists in a single season.  Ziegler's 18 double-doubles this season ranks fourth nationally, while her 9.2 defensive rebounds (2^nd) and 10.8 rebounds (11^th) also put her among the nation's best. The junior became the first Hawk to record multiple triple-doubles, coming in the span of just 24 days to end a 37-year program drought. Ziegler ranks 13^th all-time in program history with 1,333 points, fifth with 876 rebounds and sixth with 97 blocks. In addition to her First Team accolades, Ziegler was named to her first Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team.
 
Smith earned First Team All-Conference honors for the first time in her career after a Third Team selection in 2022-23 and a Second Team appearance in 2023-24. The senior set a career high with 14.4 points per game, finishing in the top 10 in scoring in the Atlantic 10. Smith tallied 15 games with at least 15 points, scoring 20+ points on eight occasions. One of the best perimeter shooters in the conference, Smith finished the regular season shooting 43.4 percent from distance while recording a 47.2 field goal percentage. The Shelburne, Nova Scotia native added 3.7 rebounds per game on the year, recording 29 steals and 12 blocks. Ranking seventh all-time in program history with 1,547 points, Smith has recorded 117 starts in her 124 appearances for the Crimson Gray – both fifth-most in program history. The senior guard also became just the 25^th Hawk to reach 500 career rebounds, the first guard to reach the feat since Natasha Cloud (2012-15).
 
Despite missing six games during conference play, Brugler earned her third consecutive Atlantic 10 postseason accolade by being named Third Team All-Conference. The senior is just the third Hawk to average 10+ points per game in all four seasons of her career, entering postseason play with averages of 13.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Brugler showed her versatility, adding nearly three assists per game with 64 on the season to go along with 17 steals. The Nazareth, Pa. native shot at a 52.5 percent clip from the field, almost identically matching her career average that ranks sixth-best in program history. Brugler is just nine points shy of surpassing Teresa Carmichael (1983-87) for third in scoring in Hawk history, finishing the regular season with 1,672 points in her career. Brugler joins Smith as one of 13 Hawks to make at least 100 starts for St. Joe's as the two were named to the Women's College All-Star Game Player Watch List earlier this season.