La Salle rallies past St. Joe’s in crosstown Atlantic 10 battle

St. Joseph’s came up short against crosstown rival La Salle in a hard-fought 61-58 battle.

The loss was the Hawks’ second at Hagan Arena this season and their second-straight Atlantic 10 defeat. It was La Salle’s second win in a row.

“We need to grow from this experience — and we will,” St. Joe’s head coach Cindy Griffin said.

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Sophomore forward Talya Brugler scored 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Brugler added six rebounds. Freshman forward Laura Ziegler added 11 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks. Graduate guard Katie Jekot tallied 11 points, seven assists, and five rebounds. The Hawks shot 33.9% from the field, including 29.4% from three.

Senior Claire Jacobs led La Salle with a game-high 18 points and six rebounds. Her sister, freshman Mia Jacobs added 12 points and 12 rebounds.

La Salle shot 36.1% from the floor, including 25% from three.

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The Hawks (14-4, 4-2 A-10) started the game hot and jumped out to a 7-0 lead. La Salle (12-8, 3-2) answered with a trio of threes and knotted the score, 9-9.

The teams traded baskets — and the lead — until St. Joe’s went on another 7-0 run to end the quarter with a 22-16 lead.

Both teams struggled to score throughout the second quarter. The Hawks made 5 of 15 attempts from the field, while La Salle shot 4 of 15 (26.7%) including 2 of 11 from deep.

The Explorers’ shots began falling in the second half, and they went on an 8-2 run punctuated by a layup by Claire Jacobs to give La Salle a 45-43 lead with 2 minutes, 36 seconds left in the period. St. Joe’s trailed, 49-46, after three quarters.

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The Hawks’ shooting struggles continued, and they trailed by as many as six. St. Joe’s clawed back, and Ziegler tied the game, 57-57, with a free throw at the 2:04 mark, but a layup by Claire Jacobs put the Explorers back in front for good.

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The second-half shooting slump from St. Joe’s proved to be the difference. The Hawks shot just 7 of 28 from the field in the half and 3 of 14 in the final quarter. They shot 41.9% in the first half.

La Salle’s shooting improved in the second half. The Explorers shot 38.7% in the second half, as opposed to 33.3% in the first half.

St. Joe’s will host Fordham on Sunday (2 p.m., ESPN+). La Salle travels to Loyola Chicago on Sunday (2 p.m., ESPN+).