City of Basketball Love

Jared Leveson (@jared_leveson)

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When St. Joe’s beat Drexel last Sunday to move to 8-0, it marked the best start in head coach Cindy Griffin’s 22 year tenure. On top of that, it was the second-longest winning streak to start a season in program history.  

Well, now make that 9-0.

Sophomore forward Talya Brugler and freshman forward Laura Ziegler shined on Wednesday as St. Joe’s handled their business on the road at Rider, defeating the Broncs, 60-53. 

With their 9-0 record, St. Joe’s has a shot at history, needing one more win to match the best in program history.

“Winning is tough, no matter what,” Ziegler said next to Brugler. “Being 9-0 was not expected, but definitely something we knew we could do.” 

“We’re just really happy to be here.”

The 1984-1985 Hawks team set the record at 10-0. That year, St. Joe’s won the Atlantic-10, made the NCAA Tournament, and won the Big 5 (4-0). That season, Villanova finished second in the Big 5 (3-1).

Some say history repeats itself, I guess we’ll find out soon enough. 

St. Joe’s (9-0) will have its biggest test on Saturday in The Holy War at Finneran Pavilion. The Hawks will face the No. 25 Wildcats (8-2) with both teams undefeated in Big 5 play. 

“We’re just taking it one game at a time right now,” Brugler said after Wednesday’s win over Rider. “We've been focusing on this one for the past two days and we executed the game plan perfectly.” 

It's a challenge to not get ahead of oneself when facing a weaker opponent before such a historical game. But St. Joe’s frontcourt standouts and Mackenzie Smith (15 points, six rebounds) helped the Hawks push through adversity on the road. 

Brugler, St. Joe’s leading scorer (15 ppg), had another great night, offensively and defensively. The Nazareth (Pa.) native recorded 16 pts on 42.9% shooting, added four rebounds, and stole the ball twice. 

The four-time Atlantic-10 all-rookie of the week, Ziegler had another award-worthy performance against the Broncs. The 6-2 forward recorded her second career double-double, tied her career high in points (16) and her rebounds (11) fell just shy of her young career best 12.

“We knew it was gonna be tough,” Griffin said about Wednesday’s matchup with Rider. “You look at it [Rider] on your schedule and you like it. Then all of a sudden you’re like, we gotta go up there and play in between two Philly games.” 

“I thought our kids did a very good job staying composed today.” 

Brugler experienced similar success to Ziegler as a freshman last season, receiving A-10 Rookie of the Week honors six times. Their paralleled success means Ziegler has someone to share with, confide in, and help manage the pressures and expectations of instant success and freshman year overall. 

“It’s really fun,” Brugler said about watching the Danish international’s early success at the Division I level. “It is awesome seeing her follow in my footsteps I guess you could say, but she’s actually older than me,” she added, with Ziegler laughing.

“She's like my little big sister.” 

Ziegler isn’t older by much, only a couple months, but moving from Denmark, starting your freshman year of college in the United States, and having to balance school work with the Division I basketball time commitment defies age. 

Brugler’s proved a strong resource for Ziegler as she adjusted to campus life. The two have grown close to one another as roommates.  Brugler told Ziegler to take advantage of every opportunity in front of her. But one piece of advice has stuck with the freshman forward since the two met. 

“Something Talya told me,” Ziegler said, peering into her memory. “She said there were gonna be ups and downs, but make the downs as short as possible.” 

There haven’t been many downs for Ziegler, so far as she’s been showered in accolades. Success can get to one’s head just as easily as failure, but that doesn’t seem to be an issue either. 

“She’s been doing a great job handling any type of adversity and all the success she’s been having,” Brugler said. “I just want her to keep continuing it.” 

The front court pairings’ off-the-court relationship is a primary reason why their on-court chemistry and play is so fun to watch. Even though Brugler and Ziegler mainly occupy the post, the two play incredibly well off of one another. 

The forwards can shoot the ball from three, knock down mid-range jumpers, play with their back to the basket, and beat their defender off the dribble. But Griffin is most impressed with their basketball acumen. 

“They just understand spacing and understand cutting and some of the stuff is just very unscripted.” Griffin said about her two studs. “It’s just concepts of playing basketball. They have a very high basketball IQ and they are very good passers.” 

Brugler and Ziegler’s play is crucial for St. Joe’s future success. Especially, when facing Villanova and the nation’s second-leading scorer, Maddy Siegrist (27 ppg) on Saturday.

Saturday’s matchup against the Wildcats will be the 48th edition of the annual rivalry game dubbed, the Holy War. St. Joe’s leads the all-time series 27-20 but has not beaten their Big 5 foe since 2015. 

“It’s a Big 5 game for us,” Brugler, who played 31 minutes and scored 4 points in a 55-39 loss last season at Hagan Arena, said. “It's gonna be a battle of wills.” 

“We know what they run. We’ve seen it, we're familiar with it, and they know what we run. It's the same thing, it’s just whoever executes the game plan better.” 

The Hawks have played six of their first nine games at Hagan Arena this year, but have shown  they can win on the road, including a hard-fought road win at SEC opponent Vanderbilt (6-5). Saturday’s game at Finneran Pavilion will be their toughest test of the season so far. St. Joe’s hasn’t won there since 2013. 

But Brugler, Ziegler, and Griffin know the formula for winning on the road – rebounding and defense. 

“I tell the kids, when you’re on the road, defense and rebounding travel,” Griffin said. “The shots sometimes don't go in.

“Our team's resilience and relentlessness. Even when things get a little bit tough and it looks a little bit ugly, it just proves that we can win playing ugly and that’s a sign of a good team.”