Hawks Fall in Double Overtime to Rhode Island

KINGSTON, RI – The St. Joseph women’s basketball team went into double overtime Wednesday night at the Ryan Center with a 77-73 loss to the league leaders.

SJU has lost five of its last six, falling to 15-7 in the year and 5-5 in the Atlantic 10. Rhode Island moves to 18-3 and 9-0 in the A-10.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Hawks missed their first six shot attempts, which allowed the Rams to take an early 6-0 lead. St. Joe’s went without a field goal until the media timeout, trailing 8-2 after a pair Talja Brugler free throws.
• A 0-11 start from the field for the Crimson and Gray was struck out Mackenzie SmithShe grabbed her first points to reduce the deficit to 11-6 with a minute remaining in the first game.
• Despite a 17-7 lead over Glas (7-1 on offensive boards) for Rhode Island, the Rams converted just two second-chance points into a 14-8 lead after 10 minutes.
• Rhody opened the second with a basket on his first possession, but a 7-0 run from Hawk left the Crimson and Gray just a point behind the hosts. SJU forced the Rams to a nearly five-minute drought in that run, a 16-15 URI advantage going into the second-quarter media timeout.
• Olivia Mullins managed a 7-0 run of his own in Rhode Island, but the Hawks were beaten 9-2 over the last three minutes. A Brugler triple on the buzzer cut the Hawk deficit to 27-22 and went on the break.
• On three separate occasions in the third quarter, the Hawks drew within two points of the hosts, each time encountering resistance as the Rams were able to push back on two possessions. Rhody’s 6-0 run in just 55 seconds the third time extended his lead to 40-32 and forced a St. Joe’s time-out.
• At the other end of the time-out, Brugler booked a 10-2 run as the sophomore finished a press break on the edge before scoring the second of consecutive threes (Julia Nystrom) to tie the game at 42-42.
• The Rams scored seven of the last nine points and went into the break with a 49-44 lead.
• The Rhode Island lead crept to nine with 6:37 remaining, but the Hawks led another attack in the final of the fourth frame.
• A Brugler goal reduced Rhody’s lead to 64-62 with just over a minute to go, and the Hawks got a stoppage on the next possession. After an offensive foul call on Mullins, Katie Jekot forced an offensive foul on Rhode Island on the inbounds to get another chance.
• Brugler collected an offensive rebound with 7.9 seconds left before being fouled on the way up. The Nazareth, Pennsylvania native brought home both free throws coolly, Rhody missed his last possession and the game was sent into overtime.
• Mullins started extra time with a basket, neither team scoring for the next three minutes before Rhode Island finished 4-0. At 21.5 seconds, the Hawks regained possession, two behind. Mackenzie Smith drove to the basket and converted on layup, blocking a potential winner when time ran out at the other end to force a second overtime.
• Jekot started overtime with a three-pointer to give the Hawks an advantage, but a controversial trip no-call gave the Rams an equalizer and URI found a second three-pointer to lead the hosts 74-71 by 1:35 finish leading.
• Despite one last valiant effort, the Hawks couldn’t overcome the Ram advantage and fell 77-73 in double overtime.

GAME NOTES

• Talja Brugler had a game-high 24 points and added six rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Brugler played every 50 minutes in defeat.
• Laura Ziegler delivered another incredible performance in their freshman campaign. The rookie scored eight points, added 13 rebounds, a career-high seven blocks and had a career-high six assists. Ziegler played in 49 minutes.
• The seven blocks is the most since Samira van Grinsven’s seven blocks against Providence (November 12, 2012).
• Katie Jekot finished with eight points and eight rebounds and added three assists.
• Olivia Mullins produced her fifth game in the conference in double digits and finished with 10 points.
• St. Joe’s shot 17-18 (94.4%) from the free throw line.
• The Hawks posted season lows with just eight points in the first quarter and 22 points at the break.
• St. Joe’s has fallen in consecutive overtime games. The last time the Hawks played in two straight OT games was during the 2014-15 season.
• Saint Joseph’s had not had a double overtime game since 2010/11 in a 70-61 win over Princeton.
• Mayé Touré scored 18 points, 18 rebound double double.
• The Hawks were outrebounded 60-40 on the night, a 22-9 gap in offensive rebounds.

NEXT

• The Hawks are taking a week-long hiatus before returning to Hagan Arena where they will face VCU in a showdown on February 8 at 7:00 p.m.