WILMINGTON, Del. -- Saint Joseph’s secured its second consecutive Atlantic 10 Championship quarterfinal appearance, besting Davidson 64-53 Thursday evening at Chase Fieldhouse.
Saint Joseph’s advances to play Saint Louis in Friday’s the last quarterfinal match. The opening tip is slated for 7:30 pm.
The Hawks were paced by All-Conference Third Team selection Mackenzie Smith’s 17 points and eight rebounds. All-Conference First Team member Talya Brugler added 15 points and Rookie of the Year Laura Ziegler had 13 points.
“Very proud of the way our team came out very focused,” Saint Joseph’s coach Cindy Griffin said. “Defensively we set the tone in the beginning. They gave us a run but the relentlessness and selflessness of this team came out today. We were able to make plays at timely times and I think that’s we were able to advance.”
Saint Joseph’s scored 40 of its 64 points in the paint and shot 53.2 percent from the field.
All-Conference Second Teamer Elle Sutphin paced Davidson with her 18-point, 11-rebound double-double, her seventh such effort this season.
“I was really proud of our second and fourth quarter efforts,” Davidson coach Gayle Fulks said. “We obviously got off to a little bit of a slow start. In that third quarter they just had a really good run that they got going in transition and we had some breakdowns that we were hoping we wouldn’t have.
“I’m proud of our fight, we really kept after them and forced them into a lot of turnovers. I thought we made them uncomfortable for long stretches tonight. We had a lot of growth this season and I’m really proud of our young women.”
The first quarter saw Saint Joseph’s open up to a 9-0 start as the Hawks controlled play from the opening tip as Julia Nystrom got in the paint off a Davidson turnover and converted a layup.
Neither side was able to convert from 3-point range in the opening quarter and Davidson got on the scoreboard after being contained for 6:42 of game action.
The Wildcats shot 20 percent from the field, and when Olivia Mullins buried a jumper at the tail end of the quarter, Saint Joseph’s led by eight points.
Davidson started the second quarter in strong fashion to the tune of an 8-0 run with Maggie Plank responsible for five of the octet of points.
When Brugler responded with a layup to break up the run, the Wildcats pushed back with another seven points, concluded by Sutphin’s turnaround jumper, extending the advantage to five points.
The advantage would not survive the half, as the Hawks rallied with a 9-2 run, capped when Smith beat the buzzer, setting Saint Joseph’s up with a two-point edge midway through the game.
“Any positive momentum swing going into halftime is really beneficial for any group, but for us it really set the tone of ‘we’re here and we’re going to get it done,’” stated Smith.
Davidson struck first in the third quarter, but what followed was an 8-0 SJU run spurred by Ziegler and Smith’s combined efforts, forcing a Wildcat timeout.
Another Davidson run brought the game back to within a single possession before an 11-0 Hawks run concluded the quarter.
Davidson attempt to squash the momentum with a timeout, but an energized Saint Joseph’s side responded with six points, as the Wildcats were held off the scoreboard for the final 3:54 of the quarter.
The run extended to 16-0 in the early stages of the final quarter.
“We were doing a better job getting stops on defense and that momentum from our defensive end was shifting to the offense which was helping us get open shots, run in transition and get the looks that we were looking for,” Brugler said.
Davidson continued to fight, earning two baskets in a row before a well-timed Mullins pass found Ziegler who showed off her midrange game.
The Wildcats cut their deficit to nine points, utilizing an 11-2 run towards the latter stages of the quarter, but time was not on their side.