The Hawks Defeat the Revolutionaries 67 – 47 in Atlantic 10 Home Opener
PHILADELPHIA, PA. 1/3/2024 –
The Saint Joseph’s Hawks improved to 13 – 1 on the season and 2 – 0 in conference with a 20-point win over the George Washington Revolutionaries at the Hagan Arena. Forward Talya Brugler led St. Joe’s with a game-high 21 points. It was the third quarter where the Hawks established themselves winning the quarter 21 – 5 combining good offense and good defense, hence, balance on both ends of the floor.
“I think it was a well fought game,” said Saint Joseph’s Coach Cindy Griffin. “I felt GW did a nice job trying to take us out of our game plan. We were relentless about our cuts in the second half and even more so relentless about our defense. Coming out of the locker room our team made adjustments and we made baskets.”
Hawks Offensive Focus Change in the Third Quarter
The game was close at halftime with SJU leading 31 – 27. The Hawks made 48.1% (13 of 27) shots, but sank only 2 of 9 three point attempts. The three-ball accounted for 9 of 27 shots. In the third quarter the strategy became get the ball inside by passes into the post and sharp cuts. It worked as St. Joe’s took 15 shots in the quarter, 12 of which was inside the arc. Brugler and fellow forward Laura Ziegler benefitted scoring 7 and 8 points in that 10 minute span.
“We were looking for what strengths we had within the offense,” Brugler said about the adjustment. “Me and Laura (Ziegler) had some mismatches inside, so we were trying to work it inside out to get better looks.”
The team did take 3 three-pointers and drained two of them all by guard Chloe Welch, who had 16 points. Welch got shots in good position because the inside game freed the outside part of the floor.
“That is always something we work on every single day,” Welch said. “We know how to do that and it helped us today.”
Defense Rises in Quarter Number Three
GW got to within 31 – 30 on a three-pointer by guard Nya Lok, who led the Revolutionaries with 16 points. That would be the last points GW would score over the next 7:16. When they scored again at the 2:12 mark Saint Joseph’s was ahead 47 – 30. The Revolutionaries missed 7 shots and turned the ball over six times during the 16 – 0 Hawks run. For the stanza GW went 2 for 12 (16.7%) and 1 of 5 from deep. It was a matter of the Hawks playing better one on one defense.
“There was a lot of one on one defense,” Griffin said. “We got familiar with their moves a little bit and were able to make a wall and force them into some tough shots. Making shots always helps. We scored 21 points on the other end, things were flowing. And the decisions. You’ve got to make some decisions and we did a really good job of playing off of each other.”
What the Numbers Say
Ziegler got 18 points in the game, and a game-best tying 8 rebounds. The Hawks forwards made 17 of 28 field goal attempts and 5 of 5 from the free throw line, all by Brugler who went 8 of 10 from the floor. They did not make any of the 6 three-pointers they attempted.
St. Joe’s was good on 23 of 31 shots (nearly 75%) from inside the arc. Emma Boslet handed out a career-high 5 assists and did not turn the ball over. Welch handed out 4 to go along with 8 rebounds.
Nya Robertson scored 10 points for the Buff & Blue. GW shot 38.3% (18 of 47) and only 3 of 14 three’s.
Up Next
With only A10 games remaining, the next game is Saturday when Richmond comes to town. The Spiders are also 2 – 0 in the league and 12 – 3 overall. It will be a test for the Hawks.
“A very talented team,” said Griffin about Richmond. “They shoot the ball very well. It’s a great match up for us. We’re going to see where we are early.”
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: glenn@phillycollegesports.com
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