Sophomore Laura Ziegler is becoming an ‘influential’ leader for St. Joe’s. Here’s how.

It’s hard getting to the top, and it’s even harder staying there.

Laura Ziegler is up for the challenge.

The forward from Denmark, who is the reigning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, understands the balance of team and personal goals, St. Joseph’s head coach Cindy Griffin said.

“She came in here last year and wanted to be rookie of the year. She got that. She earned that,” Griffin said. “This year, she wants to be noted as one of the top players in our conference, and in order to do that, our team has to do well.”

Ziegler leads the team and the A-10 in rebounds with 107 and is averaging a double-double with 12.3 points and 10.7 rebounds. She’s trailing just juniors Talya Brugler and Mackenzie Smith in scoring this season for the Hawks (9-1).

“Laura has become very influential in her leadership style,” Griffin said. “She brings energy effort and enthusiasm every day. She wants to improve her skill set, both from the perimeter and from the post areas as well. You can see that that’s an area that was a goal of hers, and she’s doing that for us.”

One reason for Ziegler’s growth this season: her experience.

“I feel a lot more prepared and it is making things easier,” Ziegler said. “I hope that the experience last year is gonna be really good for the team and for me when we get when we get to conference play.”

Along with playing experience, she has a familiarity with her opponents she didn’t have last season.

“I love to scout. I love knowing the personnel we’re going to play and really going into details,” Ziegler said. “It was just more difficult last year because we had maybe two games a week and it was always something new and everything from the beginning. Now knowing a little bit more about the people we playing, it seems to me a little bit easier.”

That familiarity comes with outside expectations for Ziegler and her teammates. After helping lead the Hawks to the conference quarterfinals and the WNIT, their first postseason berth since the 2017-18 season, Ziegler said her coaches put those outside voices into perspective early on.

“We sat down as a team and we had a talk and talked about ‘Is this pressure or is this privilege?’ ” Ziegler said. “It’s going to be privilege because we had a really good season last year. It’s a privilege now that we’re going to get the best from every team we play.”

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Ziegler has prepared to compete against her opponents’ best by giving her all during practice and has motivated her teammates to do the same. Even as an underclassman, Ziegler has gained her teammates’ respect, said Brugler.

“She has really strong insight. She’s someone that shows up every day and brings a lot of energy to our team,” Brugler said “It’s very authentic, and she’s gonna motivate all her teammates to bring the same energy and be the best versions of themselves every day at practice and during games.”

Brugler said part of Ziegler’s work ethic and ability to lead comes from her international experience.

“She was a natural leader [when] she came in because of the experience that she had playing with older women on the national team in Denmark. She had been led by a lot of older people, and she picked up on those traits,” Brugler said.

That experience with Denmark’s national team also taught Ziegler how to play against older opponents who capitalized on her mistakes.

“I played against 30-year-old women since I was 18,” Ziegler said. “It forced me to try to be a little bit smarter, a little bit early on, because I was playing against these older women and just playing internationally.”

As her campaign to stay at the top continues, Ziegler’s teammates and coaches are ready to see what conference play brings.

“Laura has really been phenomenal for us to start this year,” Griffin said. “I’m excited for what the future of the season brings for her.”