City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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(Ed. Note: This article is part of our 2023-24 season coverage, which will run for the six weeks preceding the first official games of the year on Nov. 6. To access all of our high school and college preview content for this season click here.)

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Big 5 Preseason Primers
MBB: Drexel | La Salle | Penn | Saint Joseph’s | Temple | Villanova
WBB: Drexel | La Salle | Penn | Saint Joseph’s | Temple | Villanova

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2023-24 Saint Joseph’s Hawks WBB Primer
Coach: Cindy Griffin, 23rd season (370-305, .548)
Last Year: 20-11 (9-7 Atlantic 10), lost in A-10 quarterfinals (Saint Louis, 59-44), lost in WNIT First Round (Seton Hall, 69-61)

There have been ups and downs in Griffin’s two decades (and change) on City Avenue, but her Hawks seem to be hitting another crest, with a strong rising junior class leading a young group that is coming off the program’s first 20-win season in nine years. The addition of some really talented freshmen plus a big-time grad transfer should give Griffin an even stronger, more experienced and motivated group than a year ago, all of which adds up to some pretty high expectations on Hawk Hill. An Atlantic 10 title is the goal, and it’s an achievable one.

Key Departures: G Olivia Mullins (8.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg), G Katie Jekot (6.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg)

The loss of their starting backcourt will be a significant hurdle for St. Joe’s, no doubt, though neither of the players they lost did anything that the current roster can’t replace — on the court, at least. The second of four sisters, Jekot played in 129 games with 123 starts in six years on Hawk Hill and was a steadying on-court presence, though she only shot 27.3% from 3-point range in her career. Mullins, who’s finishing her career at James Madison, was also not a strong outside shooter (29.6%), though she was second on the team to Jekot in assists per game (4.8 and 3.0).

New Faces: G Gabby Casey (Fr. | Lansdale Catholic), C Lizzy Gruber (Fr. | Gardiner Area, Maine), G Bridget Monaghan (Gr. | Scranton), G Aleah Snead (Fr. | Penn Charter), Chloe Welch (Gr. | Davidson)

To compensate for the loss of the above pair as well as a few deep reserves, Griffin and her staff brought in five new players — three true freshmen and two grad transfers, which as a group should provide a nice boost to the rotation this season. The two grad transfers, Monaghan and Welch, have rather different backgrounds: Welch, a 5-9 guard, played in 115 games with 83 starts in five years at Davidson, averaging 8.6 ppg for her career but 16.2 ppg over 16 games during the COVID season; Monaghan, a 5-5 point guard, was a D-III standout and two-time Landmark Conference Player of the Year (2021 and 2023).

Two of the three freshmen should be plenty familiar names to local hoops fans, especially if they’ve been reading our coverage. Casey is the 2023 PIAA 4A Girls’ Player of the Year, having led Lansdale Catholic to its first-ever Catholic League and state titles. The 5-foot-10 combo guard is an excellent slasher who can also knock down from deep. Snead, the Inter-Ac MVP, is similarly sized at 5-11 with a little more of an inside game and has been a player to watch since her freshman year of high school. Gruber, a 6-4 post who becomes the tallest member of the roster, won’t be counted on to play huge minutes right away due to the returning frontcourt, but her size no doubt gives her an opportunity to earn some minutes if she can help out defensively.

Projected Lineup: PG Julia Nystrom (3.9 ppg), G Chloe Welch (9.7 ppg), SG Mackenzie Smith (13.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg), F Talya Brugler (16.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg), PF Laura Ziegler (11.8 ppg, 8.7 rpg)

This is a strong group, no doubt — Smith, Brugler and Ziegler are locked into the lineup, and those three alone are enough to give opposing defenses fits. Brugler, our Big 5 Preseason Player of the Year, is going to be on the short list for the same honor in the Atlantic 10, the 6-1 forward an elite high-post operator with an unending motor. She and the 6-2 Ziegler, who can score inside and out (41 3s as a freshman), form quite the frontcourt tandem, and they both played more than 32 mpg last season. Smith, a 5-10 junior who’s started 55 of 61 games in her career thus far, averaged 13.6 ppg (second on the team) last year but saw her 3-point shooting go from 38.6% as a freshman to 31.6% as a sophomore.

Welch should almost certainly be starting, given her experience and scoring ability on the perimeter, which should create even more open shots for Smith. The point guard position is really the only question mark, though Nystrom has a good bit of experience, having started 29 of the 59 games she’s played in over the last two years and averaging 21.3 minutes. She was relegated to top reserve as a sophomore after making 26 of those starts as a freshman. It’s possible Monaghan takes this spot, while a few of the other reserves mentioned below could have the ball in their hands at times, as well.

Key Reserves: G/F Emma Boslet (3.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg), F Paula Maurina (1.3 ppg, 0.6 rpg), Gabby Casey, Bridget Monaghan, Aleah Snead

Griffin has quality on her bench to turn to, for sure, with a mix of experience and exciting youth contributing as reserves. Boslet, a 5-11 versatile wing guard, came up as a point guard in high school but has played the ‘1’ through the ‘4’ in her years on Hawk Hill. She averaged about 15 mpg in 54 career games thus far, her junior year her most consistent effort yet from all aspects. She’ll get some run at the point and might even move into the starting lineup, but if not she’ll certainly see significant minutes off the bench. Maurina, a 6-0 forward who spent the first two years of her college career at Hartford, averaged 13.0 ppg as a sophomore but couldn’t quite crack the rotation in her first year at St. Joe’s; she’ll be the first big off the bench to start the year. 

Casey has impressed in early practices, and there’s no way she doesn’t carve out some kind of role. The same seems likely for Monaghan, who needs to adjust to the size of the D-I roster but gives them some extra pop and experience off the bench. How much time is left for Snead remains to be seen; junior guard Kaylie Griffin and sophomore guard Emirson Devenie haven’t yet made a big impact on the floor but are still competing for minutes and could work their way in.

Biggest Strength: Frontcourt

There’s little question that the top point on opponents’ scouting sheets all season long when it comes to the Hawks will be to slow down Brugler and Ziegler. The pair accounted for more than 42% of the team’s scoring a year ago as undergrads, and now the have a full season and offseason of playing together under their belts. Throw in the 6-4 Gruber and 6-0 Paula Maurina, and that’s a strong quartet up front. It’s likely Maurina starts the season ahead of Gruber in the rotation, but don’t be surprised to see Gruber’s minutes increase as she gets more comfortable.

Area for Improvement: Point Guard

It’s really the only question mark the Hawks have: who handles the rock? Jekot averaged more than 31.2 mpg in each of her last four seasons, creating a deep bond between herself and Griffin. They have veteran options in Boslet, Monaghan, Griffin and Nystrom, but none of them have the kind of on-court experience that Jekot had. It’ll be interesting to see if Griffin goes with a point-guard-by-committee approach or tries to find one guard to have the ball in her hands a majority of the time; it’s likely to be a fluid situation, especially early on.