City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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With her St. Joe’s squad not fazed by opening opponent Maryland-Eastern Shore in any matter, Cindy Griffin got plenty of time to see her newest freshman class on the court in their collegiate debuts. 

One game is hardly much of a sample size, but Griffin certainly had lots to like about what she saw from her youngsters. 

Whether it was freshman forward Tayla Brugler hitting double-figures in her first game (and first start) or classmate Mackenzie Smith coming off the bench to knock down 3-pointers and gobble up steals, the Hawks’ newcomers impressed on both ends of the floor.

“I thought they did a great job,” the Hawks’ 21st-year head coach said Tuesday night after an 84-49 season-opening win at Hagan Arena. “I thought they were very composed, I thought that they didn’t try to play outside of themselves, they just did what they know how to do and they trusted what we were trying to accomplish.”

Four of Griffin’s five freshmen contributed, and none in a minor way.

Brugler, a 6-foot-1 forward out of Nazareth (Pa.), got rolling with an early 3-pointer from the left wing and settled in quickly thereafter, showing she wasn’t afraid to score inside or put the ball on the floor with space on the perimeter. The only underclassman in a starting lineup full of seniors and grad students, Brugler looked every bit like a seasoned college pro, though she’s anything but.

She finished the game 5-of-9 from the floor, with three rebounds and an assist in 23 minutes of action, an efficient and productive first collegiate outing for the 1,600-point scorer in high school. 

“I typically don’t get too nervous for basketball, but I was a little nervous today, I’m not going to lie,” she admitted. “Making that first 3 was really good, it was a momentum push for me and it helped me relax and play the game.”

Smith, a 5-10 guard from Nova Scotia, was a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc and 3-of-4 from the line for her 12 points, the third member of her team in double figures. Julia Nyström, a 5-6 guard from Lund, Sweden, played 11 minutes with three assists and a steal along with two points from the foul line, and 6-2 forward Laila Fair (Stuart Country Day, N.J.) scored six points and grabbed three rebounds in nine minutes of action.

The Hawks also got 13 strong minutes from sophomore Olivia Mullins, the team’s backup point guard, who scored seven points and dished out two assists, while classmate Emma Boslet played tough defense in the same amount of time on the court. The underclassmen were strong enough that Griffin didn’t mind putting out five on the court at once, doing so multiple times during the win.

“It was like, let’s see what these guys can do,” Griffin said. “We had the opportunity to do it, I think we were pretty safe with the lead at that point, and they ran with it, they did a really good job defending, rebounding, and getting some easy baskets.”

The veterans had plenty of say in the matter as well. Grad student Katie Jekot, the team’s second-leading scorer a year ago (9.6 ppg), finished with 16 points, going 4-of-6 from deep and 5-of-8 overall, adding in four assists and a career-best tying four steals. Senior forward Elizabeth ‘Lovin’ Marsicano added nine points and three assists; grad student forward Alayna Gribble had six rebounds (a career best), four assists and three steals to offset a 1-of-8 night from the floor, and junior guard Kaliah Henderson added six points, five rebounds, and three assists.

St. Joe’s, which shot a tad under 30% from 3-point range a year ago, didn’t look bothered by the new, deeper 3-point arc, going 10-of-24 (.417) for the game. They were 30-of-65 (.462) overall from the floor, though only 14-of-29 (.483) from the foul line. 

“It felt amazing,” Jekot said of the 3-point shooting performance. “We really found our teammates, found where they needed to be and gave them open shots, so I thought it was really good.”

St. Joe’s victory was hardly in doubt after the host Hawks raced out to a 15-0 lead on their visitors, also known as the Hawks. The lead was 41-18 by halftime and 65-32 by the end of the third quarter, SJU threatening to double up on their opponent until into the final stanza. 

Griffin’s squad was too big, too athletic, too experienced for a UMES squad that took the entire 2020-21 season off. St. Joe’s forced 16 turnovers, 10 of which were steals, while holding UMES to 15-of-63 (.238) overall and 4-of-18 (.222) from 3-point range.

“The stat that strikes me, stands out the most is the assists,” Griffin said. “We had 22 assists with 11 turnovers, to me we’re sharing the ball. I told the players in the locker room, it might be a different person leading us in scoring every game, and as long as we understand that and continue to be selfless, we’re going to be really hard to guard.”

Brugler’s second start, Friday night at Drexel will come against a familiar face: her sister Tessa Brugler, a grad student in her only year with the Dragons after transferring in from Bucknell this offseason. The elder Brugler sister, also a 6-1 forward, had 10 points and 13 rebounds as Drexel lost its opener 52-50 to Marist on Tuesday night.

“Yeah, I am looking forward to that, it’s going to be a really tough matchup but it’s going to be a fun one, too,” she said. “I didn’t even think about it at first because I was focused on this game, but...I’ve got to prepare for my sister now, so that’ll be interesting. I’m excited.”