City of Basketball Love

Jerome Taylor (@ThatGuy_Rome)
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Taking a league by surprise is one thing. Maintaining a high level of production is entirely different.

That is precisely what Cindy Griffin’s team will try to accomplish during the 2022-2023 season. Last year, the Hawks had three players earn spots on the A-10 all-rookie team, setting up a solid foundation for this year.

And in their convincing 66-49 season-opening win over Bucknell on Monday, another part of an already sound foundation emerged, Laura Ziegler.

“We’re 1-0. That’s the exciting part,” Griffin said. “I think to open up with a win, especially on your home court, is very important for momentum moving forward 

Ziegler scored the night's first points, finishing a layup off a Talya Brugler assist, foreshadowing a Ziegler parade through the paint for the rest of the night.

The freshman from Denmark knew that St. Joe’s was the place for her during her visit last December. She finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, three steals and a block Monday — quite the debut. 

“Just enjoying it, having my debut, just being there taking it all in was important to me,” Ziegler said about her first game onHawk Hill. “I talked a lot to the coaches about [my debut], just controlling what I can control.” 

The Dane spent most of the evening controlling the low post, showcasing loads of poise, patience and footwork that made her equally dangerous facing up or backing down, prompting sophomore Mackenzie Smith (19 points) to jokingly call her “Dirk” postgame.

“Through the recruiting process, we knew she had guard-like skills and her better years are still ahead of her,” said Griffin, who’s in her 22nd season at the helm of St. Joe’s. “Laura talks like a point guard, that’s a gift that she has … it makes everybody’s life a lot easier, including mine.”

Ziegler attributes her skill set to her time playing in the backcourt in Denmark. 

“When I was younger, I played as a guard and just working on so many aspects of the game, just understanding what guards go through from their perspective,” Ziegler said.

The Hawks led for most of the game. In the third quarter, where the game was the tightest, Ziegler put her best foot forward. 

After the Bison took a one-point lead (34-33) at the 5:13 mark in the third, Ziegler was a crucial part in the Hawks regaining control of the game.

She scored 10 points in the third, including a buzzer-beating turnaround midrange jumper that gave the Hawks a nine-point advantage (47-38) heading into the fourth. 

Ziegler’s contributions were especially essential considering the reigning A-10 rookie of the year, Brugler, spent extended time on the bench thanks to foul trouble. 

“Our go-to Talya was struggling. … Laura is another go-to for us, and you can’t guard both of them,” Griffin said. “Her teammates gave her the ball where she needed to be successful, and [she just had] that scorer’s mentality.” 

Luckily, the Hawks sophomore class has depth, and Smith also caught fire in the third quarter, scoring 10 of her game-high 19 points in the frame. Smith and Ziegler combined for all but two of the Hawks’ points in the third quarter.

“We came out in a completely different way,” Ziegler said. “The energy and the support that was the biggest thing.”  

That third-quarter push sealed the game for the Hawks. Brugler opened the fourth with a pair of baskets and Julia Nystrom added another to push the lead to 53-38 with 8:41 to play and the lead grew as large as 19 in the fourth.

With a newfound weapon in hand, the Hawks head to Yale on Friday to continue their three-game season-opening homestand.

“It’s a long season, we’re not going to get too high, we have Yale on Friday, so we have to keep plugging along,” Griffin said.