The Hawks Win Their 19th Game of the Season
PHILADELPHIA, PA. 1/27/2024 –
The Saint Joseph’s Hawks led the entire game, yet the Davidson Wildcats did not go away. St. Joe’s led by 9 going into the final 10 minutes. Then, they put the hammer down going a 12 – 0 run over the first five minutes of the quarter, a quarter the Hawks won 21 – 4.
Saint Joseph’s improves to 19 – 2. And it is their sixth consecutive victory. It was a matter of executing by the team from Hawk Hill.
“It’s just making plays,” said Saint Joseph’s Coach Cindy Griffin. “In this time of year everybody knows what everybody is going to do. So, you can run your stuff, but you’ve got to be able to make plays and know how to play with each other. I thought we did a good job of that.”
Similar Styles
Both teams play the game with a familiar style to one another. The teams play close to the basket, move the ball, look for the shots from the inside, and play defense. Today, SJU played it better. St. Joe’s took 45 shots from inside the arc making 23, just over half of their attempts. Davidson was good on 10 of 31 two-point shots, just under a third. It meant that the Hawks were prepared.
“We know exactly what Davidson is looking for,” Saint Joseph’s forward Talya Brugler said. “Defensively, knowing we have similar styles of play. We play against that everyday in practice. So that helped us.”
Forwards Brugler and Laura Ziegler scored 19 and 14 points with Brugler making 9 of 13 from the floor.
St. Joe’s took 10 three-pointers and converted 3 while Davidson was good on 5 of 19.
Boards
It was a sizeable advantage on the glass and SJU took down 43 caroms, 14 off the offensive boards. Davidson had 23 total rebounds and only 6 on offense. This game the Hawks an 18 – 8 edge in second chance points.
“It helped us out a lot,” Brugler said about the rebounding advantage. “We were able to keep them mostly to one shot every possession. Gabby Casey came in rebounding. Just keeping them out of the paint, get one and done, and push the ball in transition.”
What the Numbers Say
Saint Joseph’s got a total of 38 points in the paint compared to 14 for the Wildcats.
Zieger contributed 14 points and took down 10 rebounds for her fifth consecutive double-double, and ninth of the season. Mackenzie Smith added 12 points and 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the campaign. This game was the first time Hawks had two players record a double-double in a game since last season at Dayton.
Freshman Gabby Casey set a collegiate-best taking down 11 rebounds.
Chloe Welch added 13 points. She played last season at Davidson, an emotional game for her.
“It was fun, but was also really hard to compete against people I’ve built relationships with and played on a team with for five years,” said Welch. “It’s just a very hard dynamic to navigate as a player emotionally.”
Charlise Dunn led the Wildcats with 16 points, 9 were scored in the second quarter. Issy Morgan added 10 points while Millie Prior took down a team-high 8 off the glass.
The Wildcats played without their two leading scorers Suzi-Rose Deegan and Elle Sutphin.
Up Next
Saint Joseph’s goes on the road for a Wednesday game at Loyola of Chicago. The team looks to add to their road wins. They have the most victories in games away from home standing at 10. Davidson travels to Saint Bonaventure the same night.
“We approach every game like it’s a championship game, with that mentality,” Brugler said.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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