GLEN ALLEN, Va. -- The four-seeded Saint Joseph’s Hawks fought off a near upset in overtime against the fifth-seeded Rhode Island Rams in Friday’s Atlantic 10 Conference Women’s Basketball quarterfinals.
Saint Joseph’s led for 25 minutes of the game before Rhode Island took control in the fourth quarter. The Hawks clawed back and forced overtime in the final seconds on late heroics by Talya Brugler, Mackenzie Smith and Gabby Casey.
Saint Joseph’s secured the 53-50 victory in overtime to move on to Saturday’s semifinals against top-seeded Richmond.
“I think we really bought in to just playing with and for each other,” Smith said of forcing overtime. “And we want this for everyone.”
Richmond advanced to the semifinals after the Spiders defeated Duquesne in the first quarterfinals. Saint Joseph (22-8) and Richmond in the regular season here.
Saint Joseph shot 5 of 6 from the free throw line in overtime to complete the comeback for the Hawks. Brugler made all four of her four free throws in overtime and Laura Ziegler added the fifth.
Brugler led the Hawks with 16 points and Smith scored 15. Ziegler grabbed team-high rebounds with Emma Boslet, Smith and Aleah Snead adding six each.
“Talya has had an up and down season because of injuries and hasn’t played her best basketball yet. And I think today was good but it’s going to continue to get better. So it was just nice to see her get going a little bit and put a lot of pressure on the defense,” Saint Joseph’s coach Cindy Griffin said. “And Mack’s ability to be able to move without the ball and to put herself in a situation where she can create for herself and for her teammates.”
The Rams saw their fourth-quarter lead slip away as the Hawks fought back to tie it in the final seconds of Friday’s quarterfinals. The Hawks tied it on efforts from Smith and Casey down the stretch.
Sophia Vital and Anaelle Dutat delivered two crucial 3-pointers for Rhode Island. Vital tied it for the Rams at 34 and Dutat gave Rhode Island the lead on her 3-pointer at 7:49. The Rams pulled away with a six-point lead with 2:32 remaining on two made free throws by Harsimran Kaur.
The Hawks responded to Kaur’s free throws with a 3-pointer nailed by Casey. Casey’s 3-pointer made it just three-point at 1:56, with Rhode Island up 48-45. With 49 seconds left, Smith’s jumper brought the Hawks within one-point.
Debroise missed two free throws with 18 seconds left. On the Hawks next possession, Smith drew a foul and made one of her two free throws to knot it at 48. Dutat grabbed the offensive rebound in the final seconds but missed the second-chance bucket. The missed shot kept the score tied at 48 and sent it to overtime.
“You got to close out games. You got to do the little things,” Rhode Island coach Tammi Reiss said. “And at end of regulation, we had a chance to do it and couldn’t get it done. But it wasn’t from a lack of effort. That’s for sure.”
Six Rams scored including double digits from Dutat and Kaur. Dutat led the Rams with 13 points Kaur scored 10 points with a team-best seven rebounds. Palmire Mbu scored eight and Sophie Phillips and Debroise each contributed seven.