Women’s Basketball Faces Richmond on Sunday in CBSSN Matchup

Saint Joseph’s (15-5, 5-3 A-10) in Richmond (12-7, 2-4 A-10)

Sunday January 29 | 4:00 p.m. | Robin’s Center | Richmond, Va.

CBSSN | Live Stats

MATCHDAY LINKS
Saint Joseph’s: Roster | Schedule | Statistics | game notes
Richmond: Roster | Schedule | statistics

RICHMOND, Va. – The Saint Joseph women’s basketball team takes to the streets Sunday afternoon and referendum their matchup with Richmond at 4 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. SJU will be looking to break a streak against the Spiders where the matchup’s home team won the six encounters going back to the 2015-16 season.

Sunday’s game will be Richmond’s Play4Kay game, the spiders will wear a pink outfit in support of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.

Back on track, the Hawks did so with vigor as they drove to a 92-61 win over St. Bonaventure during the final timeout. The win ended a three-game losing streak and gave them the biggest lead of the year. The Hawks used their best results of the season in the first and second quarters to run up against the Bonnies, never letting the lead drop below 15 after the 9:43 mark in the second quarter, and going into the break with 26. For the first time all season, the entire Hawk bank was cleared like this Judit Ambrona made her debut late in the competition, the Barcelona newcomer earning a roar from Hagan faithful as they checked in.

For the 14th game in a row Talja Brugler posted double digits with a team-high 18 points against the Bonnies and added four assists and four steals. Mackenzie Smith added a season-high seven rebounds to her 15 points to finish the field 5-7. Laura Ziegler scored all 14 points in the first half and played a season-low 23 minutes. Olivia Mullins added a career-high seven assists in the win after scoring a career-high 16 points in the previous contest against Fordham. Katie Jekot and Mullins added 14 assists on just one turnover while the Hawks grabbed 31 points from the bench — a season high.

Exploring the Spiders
The Spiders have found a mix of success on the season, going 12-7 in the season and 2-4 in conference play. Richmond has gone as far as defense will take them, the Stingy Spiders allowing under 50 points on five occasions. Richmond leads the conference (45th in NCAA) in field goal defense with three points (27.7%) and is second in the A-10 (33rd in NCAA) in field goal defense (36.3 %). The Spiders also collect the glass with a high clip, 27th land in defensive rebounds (29.0).

Addie Budnik is accelerating offense at 12.9 points a night and adding a team-high of 6.3 rebounds and 38 blocks. The all-around forward also has 44 assists and 23 steals. Katie Hille is averaging 10.6 points per contest, 5.7 rebounds per game and 26 steals a year. Siobhan Ryan adds 9.9 points, Grace Townsend (9.7 ppg) leads the team with 67 assists. Freshman Maggie Doogan is playing at 7.9 ppg and 5.6 rpg in her debut season.

Ambrona’s arrival
With two minutes left in the fight against St. Bonaventure, Judit Ambrona checked into the Crimson and Gray for the first time. The Barcelona native suffered an upper-body injury last season and the rookie got her first taste of action with the 31-point win.

Keep it simple
The Hawks have found a recipe for success in their starting lineup this season. The five of Katie Jekot, Olivia Mullins, Mackenzie Smith, Laura Ziegler and Talja Brugler The group has been nearly consistent this season, holding a 14-3 record. The only change in the lineup this year was coverage during three games, with Jekot missing a trio of games through injury.

re-covering of the nets
The Hawks put in their best offensive performance of the season, scoring 92 points in a win over St. Bonaventure — the most points in a game since a 93-67 win in Niagara on Nov. 12, 2017. SJU scored 55 points in the first game Half, the biggest spend in a half since December 28, 2015 – 57 points in a win over UMBC. St. Joe’s shot over 50% from both the ground (55.9%) and distance (56.3%).

dishing the rock
While finishing second in assists per game in the A-10 has been a common theme for the Hawks this year, the Hawks upped the season-best 26 dime on 33 field goals in the win against St. Bonaventure driven at full speed. The 26 assists were the most since he spent 27 cents in a win against Massachusetts on Jan. 13, 2018.

top of the charts
The Hawks surpassed season bests after defeating St. Bonaventure: points (92), field goals (33), three-point percent (56.3%), assists (26), points in the paint (44), fast break -Points (16), bank points (31).

Locked in Liv
ramping up production to launch Atlantic 10, Olivia Mullins became elite by the three-point line. In eight conference games, Mullins is 15-30 (50%) off the three and twice has a career-high four triples. Her percentage of field goals also rose to 42.3% in the A-10 game, seven points above her season average. Liv has scored four games in double figures in the Atlantic 10, including a career-high 16 points against Fordham.

Put up
The Hawks, one of the nation’s leading free throw shooting teams, rank 10th nationally for free throw percentage (78.5%). Led by the Crimson and Gray Mackenzie Smith (79) and Talja Brugler (75), who placed first and second in free throws in the A-10. Both rank in the top 10 in A-10 free throw percentage, led by Brugler’s 83.3% – good for fifth place in the conference.