Laura Ziegler surpasses 1,000 career points to lead St. Joe’s past VCU
The Hawks opened A-10 play with a 70-62 win over the Rams. Next up, will be another challenge in George Mason.
St. Joseph’s women’s basketball opened its Atlantic 10 conference slate with a 70-62 win over Virginia Commonwealth University during a Sunday matinee at Hagan Arena.
Junior Laura Ziegler started the game with a three-pointer, scoring her 1,000th career point and making her the 31st player in program history to achieve the milestone, as well as the fourth fastest.
Senior guard Mackenzie Smith led the Hawks (10-2, 1-0) with 25 points while also grabbing eight boards. Ziegler finished with 18 points and seven rebounds. Senior forward Talya Brugler rounded out the double-figure scoring with 13 points.
“I’m glad that she got the 1,000 point, because I think sometimes, it’s in her head,” coach Cindy Griffin said. “You know you’re gonna get it, but it’s just a matter of when she’s gonna get it. She got it early.”
A defensive showdown made it a tight first half. Entering the game, St. Joe’s was ranked eighth in the nation in three-point shooting (39.2%), but VCU (6-7, 0-1) held the Hawks to 8-for-25 from deep.
Last season, the Rams (second) and Hawks (third) were two of the top-scoring defenses in the country. When they faced off in February, VCU snapped St. Joe’s 11-game win streak and handed them its first road loss. This season, both teams are ranked in the top 25 nationally for scoring defense, with VCU at 11 and St. Joe’s tied for 23.
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The Hawks settled in early in the second half, going on a 14-2 scoring run fueled by Smith and Brugler The Rams briefly took a 55-54 lead after hitting a pair of free throws with four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. But it wasn’t enough as the Hawks put the game out of reach in the final minutes.
The second-half success this season, Griffin said, comes from having coachable players who can adapt to what they see in the first half.
“Being able to execute that plan is because you have talented players,” Griffin said. “Not only are they talented, but they’re bought in, and I think that’s a combination for the success that you saw tonight.”
Next, the Hawks will face George Mason on Jan. 2 on the road at noon.
“This is a really talented league, and we’re about to go face one of the best teams in our conference,” Griffin said. “This is a good confidence win for us, but certainly not going to get any easier.”