Hawks End Two-Game Losing Streak Winning 72 – 65
PHILADELPHIA, PA. 1/15/2025 –
A losing streak is something the Saint Joseph’s women’s basketball team has not experienced much over the past few years. But they found themselves in a lull. The Fordham Rams were on a four game winning streak. Both steaks ended as St. Joe’s grinds out a 72 – 65 win at the Hagan Arena.
“That was the first time I lost two in a row for a really long time,” said Saint Joseph’s guard Mackenzie Smith who scored a team-high 16 points. “It was ere was a really big emphasis coming back. We only had one day to prep for these guys. When we came back we really had a fire under us to get back in the column that we belong in.”
Second Half Adjustment
To start the second half the Hawks looked to get the ball to the basket and get to the foul line. In a game where there were no free throws in the first half, the teams went to the line for 57 foul shots. Saint Joseph’s converted 25 of 35 and 12 of the last 16 points came at the charity stripe.
Smith was the main beneficiary who made 5 of 13 from the floor and went 5 of 8 from the line. For the game. As a team the Hawks made 21 of 35 from the floor with 50% (16 of 32) coming from inside the arc.
“We saw the openings on the back side, and once we started to figure out as the game went on, even if we did go up, they were going to foul us,” Smith said. “It was going to be two points or that we were going to get the free throws. That really changed the momentum and how we approached the minutes after that.”
Tale of Two Halves
Fordham got off to a good start and made SJU play catch up. The Rams led 28 – 23 at halftime accented by a three-point basket at the buzzer by Camila De Pool. The third quarter has not been kind to the Hawks recently. This time momentum smiled on the home team who opened the third quarter with a 10 – 1 run keyed by Smith. She scored 7 of the points in the run to give the Hawks a four-point lead.
“Our third quarters have not been great,” said Smith. “to go out there firing, it was relieving to see the ball go in the hoop, and finally we got the start that we wanted in the second half.”
Later in the third quarter the score was tied at 35 SJU guard Rian Stokes drew a foul and converted two free throws at the 3:21 mark. Fourteen seconds later a technical foul was called on the Fordham bench. Aleah Snead and Laura Ziegler drained the foul shots, and the Hawks led by 41 – 35. Then Fordham was playing from behind to the benefit of St. Joe’s.
“When you are playing from behind, you’re trying to figure things out and trying to find out what is working,” said Saint Joseph’s Coach Cindy Griffin. “Then all of a sudden things are starting to work.”
What The Numbers Say
Ziegler recoded a double-double, her 12th this season, with 12 points and 15 rebounds. Snead added 13 points. Smith sits three points away from the 1,400 career points plateau.
Saint Joseph’s faced a Fordham team known for creating turnovers. St. Joe’s committed 12 while forcing 17 miscues leading to a 25 – 11 edge in points off turnovers.
Chae Harris led the Rams with a game-high 19 points. Taya Davis added 16 points. Fordham leading scorer Taylor Donaldson was limited to 3 points.
Up Next
Saint Joseph’s (13 – 4, 4 – 2) goes to UMass on Saturday. Fordham drops to 10 – 7 overall and is also 4 – 2 in the league. There is a log jam at the top of the Atlantic 10 with three teams having one loss and five teams with two losses. There is a lot of basketball to be played yet to decide the standings.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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